What a 1,500 year old water system can teach us about strong systems
What a 1,500 year old water system can teach us about strong systems
In May 2011, I travelled with my young family to Sri Lanka for a friend’s wedding. After some wonderful days celebrating the new couple in Colombo, we joined the other guests on a tour of this beautiful country. One of the highlights was Sigiriya - Lion’s Rock.
Sigiriya stands about 200 metres high, rising above surrounding flat jungle plains. This UNESCO listed world heritage site is an ancient rock fortress and palace of King Kashyapa, dating back to 477 AD. But the ruins of the palace at the top of the rock aren’t the most remarkable feature of this historical location. It’s the water gardens, pools and terraces that are created by an elaborate SYSTEMof hydraulic power, underground tunnels and gravitational force that are true marvel.
The aqueducts consist of interconnecting water channels that didn't just solve the problem of getting from A to B, it was a whole system for handling domestic, pleasure and aesthetic water supply needs together with drainage of stormwater - all the essentials for what was, in essence, an urban settlement on top of a rock. The fountains still work today, and during rainy seasons are activated by the same underground pressure system that King Kashyapa's engineers designed.
Sigiriya Rock - Sri Lanka
(Credit: Tuul & Bruno Morandi/Getty Images)
An ancient triumph of engineering that demonstrates the value and sustainability of great systems.
The value in having well designed, up to date systems is that they make the day-to-day, business-as-usual processes of delivering your services flow like the waters through the Sigiriya aqueducts. Streamlined, efficient and reliable, even when unexpected or emergent conditions arise. Where the system is more than just individual parts working in isolation. The alternative? Being so deep in the daily grind of inefficiency that it feels like the equivalent of carrying water up to the top of the rock by hand, bucket by bucket, wondering why it feels exhausting.
But it isn’t being short of effort. It’s being short of aSYSTEM.
The engineering feat of Sigiriya highlights where three principles of systemised success create lasting impact on the strength and capabilities of your business and your team to function with productive flow, enhance your consumer care experiences, and scale sustainably. These are the things that define high-performing practices.
Each canal connects to something else and serves multiple purposes - aesthetic, practical, defensive. Nothing was designed in isolation. Every element reinforces the system. In your business, this means your customers' experience, your team roles, your communication protocols, and your quality processes can’t exist in isolation. They need to work as a symbiotic whole.
SYSTEMISED SUCCESS in business doesn’t have to feel hard; metaphorical ‘rocks’ don’t need to become blockages that disrupt the cadence and rhythm of your practice.
I know from lived experience that both Pulse AND Profit in business is what happens when three things work together, not in isolation:
Efficient systems that carry the load instead of relying on undocumented or undefined processes
Genuine team engagement where staff are partners in success, not commodities to manage
Continuous clinical and competitive improvement that fosters consumer experience excellence, elevates professional standards, and keeps competitive positioning front of mind
That’s why I’ve created the Pulse & Profit Program
If you’re feeling bottlenecked right now, the answer probably isn’t working harder or hiring faster. It’s stepping back far enough to ask: ‘where does the pressure actually need to flow, and what’s blocking it?’
If your practice could use some help to find its flow, I’d love to share a copy of my Pulse & Profit Whitepaper with you, which outlines the business case for focusing on systems, team engagement and continuous improvement. Submit a request here
Or, if you prefer, book a complimentary clarity call with me (link below) so we can discuss how I may be able to help you create systemised success in your business.
Yours in excellence,
P.S. If this landed for you, forward it to someone who needs to hear it - especially if they’re currently carrying the buckets
