Yesterday I was riding my bicycle and was several miles into the ride before I realized I had forgotten my safety helmet. After years of triathlons and recreational riding this concerned me. I felt naked after I became aware of it! However, there was a storm approaching so I didn’t want to turn back. The result was I ended up skidding on gravel or potholes more than once because I felt UNPREPARED to be making that ride. Interestingly enough, while most of the time nearly everyone I see out riding isn’t wearing a helmet – today nearly everyone was! Go figure!
There is a great business lesson here. You need to be prepared to do what you do – meaning, you need to have a system, method, or process in place to serve your customers or you’ll never have the confidence to do what you do well. You’ll always be worried about skidding on that next patch of gravel, so to speak. When you have confidence in knowing you have a process in place to "protect" you and your business in your endeavors, you are more able to put forth your best efforts because nobody performs well under the pressure of worry and doubt.
This incident reminded me of the movie Breaking Away in which the lead character Dave is played by Dennis Christopher. Dave is an avid cyclist who gets his chance near the end of the movie to perform for the home crowd in Indiana University’s Little 500 Bicycle Race. Well, Dave is lapping the field at the start until he has an accident. His teammates aren’t much for cycling, save for an effort by Mike – played by a very young Dennis Quaid. So, Dave eventually gets back on the bike, but this time his teammates tape his feet to the pedals with duct tape. These homemade ‘toe clips’ resemble the equipment of a professional and this gives Dave the CONFIDENCE he’s used to when he is properly prepared for a race. He is now able to commit himself to using his talents to win the race – which he does.
Do you have the right structure in place to serve your customers? If not, then give me a call and let’s talk about how easily this can be done. It’s a simple matter of breaking down what has worked in the past and building a reliable process for you AND everyone that serves your customers.
