LEOS – From Spreadsheet Chaos to One-System Business: How eCommerce Teams Scale with Notion & the Power of Notion AI

At Balkan eCommerce Summit 2026, Lenard Adanov explored how growing eCommerce and SME businesses can move from operational chaos and disconnected spreadsheets toward structured, scalable systems using Notion and Notion AI. Through a creative “galaxy” metaphor, the lecture focused on organizational systems, operational clarity, process management, team alignment, and the role of AI in helping companies scale more efficiently.

Every Business Starts With Chaos

The presentation opened with the idea that:
every company begins with a:

“Big Bang moment” – the creation of the business itself.

Whether the company is:

• an eCommerce brand
• a SaaS business
• or a services company,

the early stages usually involve:

• constant multitasking
• disconnected tools
• missing files
• scattered communication
• and operational confusion.

The speaker described how many teams rely on:

• spreadsheets
• Viber chats
• email threads
• and endless “final_v4” file versions,

which eventually creates:

operational chaos that slows growth.

Businesses Need Structure Before They Need Complexity

A central message throughout the lecture was that:
most companies do not initially suffer from lack of talent,
but from:

lack of systems and operational structure.

As teams grow,
the absence of clear workflows creates:

• wasted time
• duplicated work
• onboarding difficulties
• unclear responsibilities
• and communication breakdowns.

The speaker emphasized that:
scaling businesses requires:

centralized systems that organize knowledge, workflows, and operations.

Notion Can Function as the “Operating System” of a Business

The presentation introduced the concept of:

a “business galaxy,”

where every department functions like a planet inside one connected system.

In this model:
Notion becomes the:

central operational infrastructure

connecting all business functions.

Instead of maintaining separate spreadsheets for:

• marketing
• CRM
• HR
• operations
• and project management,

the idea is to:

unify everything inside one connected environment.

Different Business Functions Require Different Levels of Structure

The lecture explained that:
not every business department needs equal complexity or size.

For example:

• eCommerce brands may rely heavily on marketing systems
• service businesses may focus more on sales pipelines
• early-stage startups may only need lightweight HR or legal systems.

The speaker stressed that:
companies should build:

systems based on operational reality,

not based on unnecessary corporate complexity.

The “Planet Anatomy” Framework

One of the key frameworks in the presentation was the:

“planet anatomy” model.

Each business function contains several layers:

The Core – The “Why”

The core represents:

• company values
• department purpose
• operational principles
• and organizational culture.

The speaker emphasized that:
culture influences every department,
just like gravity affects every planet in a galaxy.

The Mantle – The “How”

This layer represents:

operational processes and procedures.

This includes:

• workflows
• onboarding systems
• communication rules
• task structures
• and process documentation.

The goal is not:
micromanagement,
but:

creating operational clarity and consistency.

The Crust – The “What”

The outer layer contains:

visible execution and measurable outcomes.

This includes:

• KPIs
• goals
• deliverables
• metrics
• and team outputs.

The lecture stressed that:
many companies focus only on visible outputs,
without building the deeper operational layers underneath.

Sales Is the First Critical “Planet”

The speaker identified:

sales

as the first essential business function,
because without sales:
nothing else can scale.

The presentation highlighted the importance of:

• defining ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles)
• creating clear pipelines
• documenting processes
• and building repeatable systems.

Once a working system exists,
companies can then:

automate and optimize it.

SOPs Should Be Built Around Top Performers

A strong operational recommendation from the lecture was that:

standard operating procedures should be based on best-performing employees.

Rather than documenting average behavior,
companies should:

• study their strongest performers
• extract repeatable patterns
• and turn them into scalable systems.

This helps organizations:

• onboard faster
• train more effectively
• and reduce operational inconsistency.

AI Should Support Systems, Not Replace Thinking

Although AI was part of the presentation title,
the speaker clarified that:
AI should be viewed as:

an enhancement layer,

not as the foundation itself.

Examples included:

• using Notion AI
• using NotebookLM
• accelerating content generation
• organizing knowledge
• and simplifying documentation.

The presentation emphasized that:
AI is most valuable when:

strong operational systems already exist.

Without structure,
AI simply accelerates chaos.

Small Businesses Often Overcomplicate Tools

The lecture also addressed how many SMEs:

• rely on complex software stacks
• overuse spreadsheets
• or implement tools they barely understand.

The speaker noted that:
many businesses only use:

a small fraction of spreadsheet functionality,

while still struggling with organization.

The recommendation was:
start simple,
centralize information,
and gradually build scalable workflows.

Processes Create Freedom, Not Bureaucracy

A recurring theme throughout the lecture was that:

systems and processes are not about restricting teams,

but about creating clarity and reducing friction.

Well-structured systems help businesses:

• scale faster
• onboard employees quicker
• reduce operational errors
• improve collaboration
• and avoid knowledge loss.

Key Takeaways

The lecture demonstrated that:
most growing businesses eventually experience operational chaos
spreadsheets, scattered chats, and disconnected tools slow scaling
successful companies need centralized operational systems
Notion can function as a unified business operating system
different departments require different levels of structure and complexity
business functions can be understood through the “planet anatomy” framework
culture and operational principles form the foundation of scalable organizations
processes and SOPs improve consistency and onboarding
sales systems are the first critical operational layer for scaling businesses
best-performing employees should shape operational playbooks
AI is most effective when combined with structured workflows and systems
small businesses often overcomplicate their tools while lacking operational clarity
well-designed systems reduce friction, improve execution, and create scalability
successful scaling comes not only from growth,
but from building sustainable operational infrastructure.