The Tale of Stone Soup and Your Company – Why a Good Check-Up Is Needed

Do you remember the story of Stone Soup?
A soldier, with nothing but a stone, announces he’ll make soup from it.
The villagers laugh at first, but then he adds a little salt… a carrot… a potato… and in the end, it becomes a real feast.
And everyone is surprised: “So this was actually possible?”

Now imagine the same with your company.
You already have the knowledge, the data, the clients, the resources, the opportunities.
They just haven’t been put into one pot yet.

What does this mean in practice?

Most SMEs we work with already have strong basics.
There are good people.
There are systems – or at least Excel sheets.
There’s internal knowledge, experience, loyalty.

And yet they feel: “something’s missing.”
It’s not working the way it could.
Too many manual processes.
Too many unnecessary loops.
Too many hidden losses.
And not enough control.

The truth is, most of the time you don’t need new software.
You need clarity.

You can’t fix what you can’t see

Why is it worth reviewing your company’s operations from time to time?
Because you’ll notice things you’ve already gotten used to internally:

• The CRM system isn’t really used because it’s too complicated.
• Inventory is managed “by gut feeling.”
• Finance has two people working on the same data – in two separate spreadsheets.
• Sales reports are written manually every week – but no one actually reads them.

These aren’t unique mistakes. They’re the core issues of companies running on the “still works somehow” logic.
And each of them hides a potential Stone Soup: a bit of structure, a bit of rule-setting, a bit of attention – and the result is completely different.

What happens during a good check-up?

A professional review usually covers the following areas:

• Processes: where duplication, waiting, unnecessary loops occur
• Systems: what is used – and what really isn’t
• Data: do you have it, where is it, is it accurate, accessible, usable?
• Connections: do departments communicate? or is everyone struggling alone?
• People factor: is there someone who knows everything – and if they leave, everything stops?

From this, a logical, step-by-step improvement plan can be created – not a futuristic “fully automated tomorrow,” but a clearer, more efficient company, one step at a time.

Most of the time, what’s missing isn’t what you’d expect

• The problem isn’t lack of data – but not looking at the right data.
• The issue isn’t that you don’t have a CRM – but that the team doesn’t know what it’s good for.
• The gap isn’t that you don’t have new software – but that the old one isn’t used properly.

The stone is there. The water too. The salt. The carrot.
You just haven’t put the pot on the fire yet.

And why now?

• Because today there are grants that support both reviews and development.
• Because if you don’t start now – next year you may already be at a competitive disadvantage.
• Because the market won’t wait. Those who don’t improve, fall behind.

We help you put together what you already have

10xone doesn’t want to sell you more software.
We help you identify what’s already valuable in your company – just not yet fully used.

A good review is not criticism.
It’s a chance to see your own resources clearly – from the outside, logically.
And yes, you can make soup out of that.
A very good one, in fact.