<aside>
This cheatsheet is a companion to my essay ‘The Systems-Driven Operator’ , a playbook for bringing clarity to chaos in Sales Ops through systems thinking and trust-first leadership.
</aside>
<aside>
Read the full essay: The Systems-Driven Operator
</aside>
Use these low-lift, high-impact tools to make your systems legible, scalable, and trustworthy.
Naming Conventions
Create standardized, intuitive naming rules for fields, reports, dashboards, and automations.
If someone can’t guess what it does, it’s poorly named..
One-Pager Briefs
Write concise briefs for each core system or process: lead scoring, attribution, routing, etc.
Cover what it is, why it exists, how it works, and who owns it—all on one page.
Feedback Loops
Build structured mechanisms for cross-functional input—monthly syncs, embedded surveys, or real-time Slack threads.
The best systems evolve in partnership with their users.
Glossaries
Maintain a shared language: clearly define key GTM terms like MQL, SAL, ICP, lead status, pipeline stages.
Eliminate silent misalignment caused by unclear or shifting definitions.
Handoff Maps
Visualize who owns what, when, and how during each phase of the lead or account journey.
Makes friction points obvious and reduces dropped handoffs.
System Ownership Matrix
Document exactly who owns each part of your tech stack, workflows, and data domains.
Every system and report should have a clear owner—not just the admin.
Process Walkthrough Videos
Record 5–10 minute screencasts explaining how and why key processes work.
Far faster to absorb than 10-page SOPs and more engaging for new hires.
Audit Trails
Keep a changelog of major updates to automations, scoring models, field logic, or attribution rules.
Helps diagnose errors and builds institutional memory.
Simplicity Reviews
Periodically audit your systems for unnecessary complexity. Prune unused fields, rules, or branches.
More rules often means less clarity. Cut aggressively.
Trust Indicators
Add visual signals to dashboards and reports—timestamps, data health checks, confidence ratings.
Trust grows when users can quickly gauge if a report is current, accurate, and actionable.
<aside>
A companion to “The Systems-Driven Operator”
Read the full essay: The Systems-Driven Operator
</aside>