• The author of Systems Champion book (August 2025), David Jenyns, begins with an impactful personal story. He describes how advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) caused his business model, which focused on manual process documentation, to rapidly become obsolete. This shift forced him to make difficult decisions, including laying off seven team members. This painful experience led to a key insight: in the modern world, the presence of AI makes systems and processes more important than ever. To achieve great results with AI, clear instructions, well-defined outcomes, and structured data are necessary; in effect, “process is the programming for the machines”.

The systems champion book offers extensive insights into evolving business strategies with AI integration, emphasizing how important it is to have a dedicated Systems Champion leading these efforts.

In the systems champion book, the author emphasizes that understanding systematization is crucial for every business aiming to leverage AI effectively.

The author argues that the gap between systematized and unsystematized businesses is widening. He reveals an uncomfortable truth learned from working with thousands of businesses: technology alone is not enough. AI tools cannot drive transformation by themselves; they need a person to harness their potential. This is where the role of the Systems Champion is introduced as the primary key to success. The Systems Champion is responsible for the continuous advancement of systemization, ensuring that this process becomes part of the company’s DNA.

 

The role of the Systems Champion is crucial for navigating the complexities of modern business.

Part One: For the Business Owner

Systems Champion Book Is Not for Business Owner

This chapter begins with a direct and liberating message for the business owner: you are not the right person to champion systems in your business. The author explains that most business owners are inherently visionaries and strategists; they are built to spot the next big opportunity, not to document the details of current processes. Their attempts to do so usually fail, as this role conflicts with their natural strengths and causes them to get bogged down in details. In fact, the business owner often becomes the biggest bottleneck in the systemization journey, despite their best intentions. The solution is not criticism, but liberation. This book is written for your Systems Champion. Your role as the business owner is to pass this book to the right person, give them the necessary authority, and support them in turning this vision into a reality.

As discussed in the systems champion book, it is essential for business owners to recognize that the Systems Champion is paramount for the sustainability of their operational strategies.

Finding Your Systems Champion

In this chapter, the role of the Systems Champion is precisely defined. They are not a Chief Operating Officer (COO) or an operations manager, but can be considered the “department head of the ‘systems’ department”. Their main responsibilities include:

The systems champion book elaborates on the various roles and responsibilities crucial for a Systems Champion to fulfill in any organization, ensuring streamlined processes and growth.

• Defining systemization needs: In collaboration with leaders, they identify key processes for documentation.
• Extracting systems: They extract and document knowledge and experience from subject matter experts (“knowledgeable workers”).
• Documentation and formatting: They create a unified style for all documentation to maintain consistency.
• Managing system storage and accessibility: They establish a central location as the single source of truth for all documentation.
• Accountability and transparency: They create an environment where responsibilities are clear and visible.
• Systems adoption and culture: They encourage and train the team to adopt and follow documented processes.

The author identifies five key qualities for an effective Systems Champion:

1. Organizational skills and detail orientation: Order and precision are the foundation of this role.
2. Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills: They must be able to communicate easily with all levels of the organization.
3. Curiosity and creative problem-solving abilities: To overcome unique challenges within any company.
4. Adaptability and tech-savviness: They must be comfortable learning new software (including AI).
5. Leadership potential and assertiveness: To bring others along without necessarily holding a formal leadership position.

This individual can be promoted from within the organization or hired externally.

The AI Advantage

The importance of a Systems Champion, as highlighted in the systems champion book, cannot be overstated when it comes to facilitating digital transformation.

This chapter reveals a strategic, long-term benefit of having a Systems Champion: a successful Systems Champion naturally evolves into the company’s AI Champion. The author explains that there is a natural overlap in the skills required for both roles.

AI requires prompts to deliver optimal results, and a good prompt is, in effect, a system that teaches the AI what to do. A person who can break down a complex human process into simple, replicable steps can easily do the same for an AI. Because of their deep understanding of the business’s pain points and processes, the Systems Champion is the best person to identify opportunities where AI can have the greatest impact. Hiring this person is effectively future-proofing the business and preparing you for future technological transformations.

According to the systems champion book, the transformation journey of a business is closely tied to the effectiveness of its Systems Champion in adapting to new technologies.

This Is Your Stop

This chapter is a pivotal moment where the business owner must step back and allow the Systems Champion to take the lead. The temptation to micromanage must be controlled; the Systems Champion needs time, resources, and authority to succeed. However, this does not mean a complete abdication of responsibility. The business owner must provide public and unwavering support for the project, demonstrating to the entire team that systemization is a strategic priority. This support is essential for overcoming potential resistance.

In the systems champion book, the author discusses how hiring a Systems Champion can dramatically improve operational efficiency and business outcomes.

To demonstrate the power of systemization, the author provides a powerful financial example: a mere 10 percent improvement in a few key business areas can lead to a 61 percent increase in annual profit, thanks to the compounding effect. Finally, the case study of the “Vocal Manoeuvres” academy shows how hiring a Systems Champion transformed the business from a state of constant anxiety into a “beautiful, humming machine”.

Part Two: For the Systems Champion

The systems champion book serves as a roadmap for Systems Champions, guiding them through the necessary steps to implement effective systems in their organizations.

Systems Champion Book Is for Systems Champion

This section begins by welcoming the Systems Champion and defining the core goal of the role. This goal should be ingrained in the champion’s mind:

“The business must transition from being a business dependent on individual knowledge to one driven by documented, scalable systems.”

In the context of this systems champion book, the author emphasizes the need for a cultural shift within organizations to support systematic thinking.

This overarching goal is broken down into two parts:

• Systematizing every part of the business to deliver a consistent and repeatable result to clients.
• Removing key person dependency so the business does not fall into chaos in their absence.

The benefits of this transformation include consistency and quality, an empowered team, efficiency and reduced errors, and scalability. The author emphasizes that the goal is not to build a perfect machine, but to create “Version 1.0” of a systematized business that will be improved over time.

SYSTEMology Explained

In this chapter, the author briefly introduces the framework from his previous book, SYSTEMology, which includes seven stages: Define, Assign, Extract, Organize, Integrate, Scale, and Optimize. He then presents a fundamental principle: in business, consistency is far more important than perfection. The classic example of McDonald’s is provided: no one claims they make the world’s best hamburger, but their global success is built on certainty and predictability. Customers value reliability, and systems are the tool to achieve this consistency.

Overcoming Resistance

The biggest challenge on the path to systemization is not documenting the processes, but bringing the team along on the journey. The author distills all the excuses employees give for not following systems down to three core excuses:

1. “I didn’t know how”: This excuse stems from a lack of knowledge, inadequate training, or inaccessible information.
2. “I didn’t know it was my job”: This excuse relates to a lack of clarity in responsibilities and accountability.
3. “I don’t want to”: This is the most difficult type of resistance and is rooted in motivation, engagement, and priorities.

The role of the Systems Champion is not disciplinary; rather, they are an architect of success who makes doing the right thing the easiest path by designing intelligent systems.

 

Three Pillars Framework of Systems Champion Book

The systems champion book articulates how the role of a Systems Champion is pivotal in transcending traditional business practices through innovative systems.

To address the three excuses mentioned, the author presents a three-pillar framework, which works together to create stability like the legs of a stool:

• • Pillar 1: Documentation: This pillar eliminates the “I didn’t know how” excuse. By converting tribal knowledge into clear, actionable guides, it leaves no room for confusion.

The systems champion book provides frameworks that detail how to effectively document and implement systems for better workflow.

• Pillar 2: Tools: This pillar removes the “I didn’t know it was my job” excuse. Tools create accountable transparency, making it clear who is doing what and by when.
• Pillar 3: Culture: This pillar solves the “I don’t want to” excuse. By creating an environment where systems thinking becomes second nature and continuous improvement is encouraged, resistance gradually fades away.

These three pillars are deeply interconnected, and success in one depends on the others.

 

Pillar 1: Documentation

Minimum Viable Systems (MVS)

Using the analogy of the human body, the author explains that a business is also composed of interconnected, vital systems. Attempting to systematize everything is a disaster. Instead, one should apply the 80/20 rule and focus on the Minimum Viable Systems (MVS); the 20 percent of systems that deliver 80 percent of the results.

The criteria for selecting these systems are threefold: they must be essential, repeatable, and delegable. To find the MVS, one should identify the main business departments, then list a maximum of seven key systems for each, and finally, share this list with the whole team for feedback and create a “scoreboard” to track progress.

Ultimately, the systems champion book suggests that successful implementation relies heavily on the Systems Champion’s ability to engage and motivate their team.

Effective implementation of systems requires a Systems Champion who engages and motivates the team.

System for Creating Systems 2.0

In this chapter, the author presents his step-by-step process for capturing and documenting systems, which has been transformed with the help of AI. This process, which once took hours, can now be done in minutes. The eight steps are:

Evidently, the systems champion book is not just a guide; it’s a call to action for businesses to prioritize systematic approaches in their operations.

1. Identify the result
2. Identify who produces the result
3. Choose your capture method
4. Record the task
5. Generate the initial documentation using AI.
6. Store it in systems management software
7. Review with the knowledgeable worker
8. Integrate and deploy

Extraction Playbook

This chapter provides a collection of tips and key lessons for effective documentation:

• • Create only useful systems
  • Master the art of extraction
  • Capture what’s working now

In summary, the insights offered in the systems champion book are invaluable for both aspiring and seasoned Systems Champions alike.

• Choose the right system type (overview vs. how-to)
• Balance detail with usability
• Make systems human-friendly
• Simplify everything
• Update when needed, not on a schedule

 

Pillar 2: Tools

The systems champion book ultimately aims to equip professionals with the necessary tools to foster a culture of accountability and transparency.

Accountable & Transparent

Using the analogy of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, the author shows that true success comes from coordinated teamwork, not individual brilliance. Tools enable this coordination by creating transparency and accountability. Two types of tools are essential:

• Systems Management Software: A central place to store the “how” of doing work, creating a single source of truth.
• Project Management Software: A tool to organize “who does what by when.”

These two tools should be connected; every task in project management should link to the corresponding system.

AI Champion

This chapter, using the analogy of Blockbuster and Netflix, emphasizes the critical urgency of adapting to AI. AI has broken the rule that you can only pick two of the three options: “faster, cheaper, and better”. As the Systems Champion, you are in a unique position to lead this transformation because you understand the “DNA of the business”. You can create powerful tools for your team by training custom AI assistants on the company’s documented systems.

 

The essence of the systems champion book is captured in its emphasis on cultural transformation as a core component of successful systems implementation.

Pillar 3: Culture

Power of Culture

This chapter confronts the “final boss,” the “I don’t want to” excuse. The author uses the famous “Dancing Guy” video as a powerful analogy for building a cultural movement. The business owner is the first dancer, but the more crucial role belongs to the Systems Champion, who, as the first follower, transforms a lone individual into a leader.

Success in this role depends less on technical skill and more on deep belief and conviction. The author outlines three steps for cultural transformation:

• Commit to your beliefs
• Find your supporters
• Build your proof of success

Recruitment

Inspired by Southwest Airlines’ strategy to “hire for attitude, train for skill”, this chapter argues that the easiest way to get people to follow systems is to hire people who like to follow systems. This is achieved by rewriting job descriptions and ads to attract systems-minded individuals and by designing interview questions to assess a systematic mindset.

By implementing the strategies outlined in the systems champion book, organizations can create a more systematic and efficient work environment.

Onboarding

Using the analogy of the elevator experiment, this chapter shows that the onboarding process is the best opportunity to establish that “here, we do things the systematic way”. By introducing systems from day one, this behavior is accepted as the norm. A systems-focused onboarding plan is proposed to reinforce this culture.

System for Unfollowed Systems (SFUS)

This chapter addresses employees who persistently resist change. The author introduces the System for Unfollowed Systems (SFUS). Before implementation, the situation should be evaluated using the “4 C’s”: Capability, Capacity, Conviction, and Cost. If resistance continues, a 3-step process is followed:

1. Informal Coaching
2. Formal Performance Improvement Plan
3. Final Decision

 

At its core, the systems champion book encourages readers to adopt a mindset conducive to systematic thinking and operation.

Implementation and Conclusion of Systems Champion Book

Your Action Plan

Using the analogy of The Matrix, the author explains that the Systems Champion can now see the underlying “code” of the business. This chapter provides a 9-step implementation plan that includes conducting a systems audit (documentation, tools, and culture) and creating a 90-day roadmap.

Success

The final chapter states a key and counterintuitive truth: the best way to succeed in this role is not by making yourself look good, but by making your team look great!. Your victories are often invisible: the problems that never happen. The author emphasizes the natural career progression for Systems Champions into roles like operations director, as they become experts in improving how the business works.

 

About the Author

In conclusion, the systems champion book encapsulates the journey of a Systems Champion, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to lead their organizations toward greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Author of Systems Champion book, David Jenyns is an author and entrepreneur whose mission is to free business owners worldwide from the daily operations of running their business. He has been on this path for nearly a decade and has now impacted hundreds of thousands of business owners globally. Throughout his entrepreneurial journey, Jenyns has founded, systematized, and successfully sold three companies. This real-world experience, along with advising hundreds of companies in various industries, has helped shape his approach, which is called “SYSTEMology.” Today, he leads the growing community of certified SYSTEMologists and helps business owners achieve freedom.

 

 

The systems champion book is a pivotal resource for anyone interested in enhancing their understanding of business systems and driving organizational success.