Walking along the Auckland waterfront after a recent storm I saw 3 boats washed up on the rocks. My thoughts immediately went to why this had happened and in each case saw a parallel for business owners (funny how the mind works!).
The first had its anchor post pulled straight out of the deck; I suspect a bit of rot had set in, not always apparent on the surface but when full capacity was needed it failed and paid the ultimate sacrifice! So the business lessons?
- Ask yourself where the weak spots are in your business
- Once identified gauge how much damage they would do if they failed
- Or how much better it would be if they worked properly!
- Prioritise and tackle the issues progressively
- Then put mechanisms in place to monitor the effectiveness of changes
The second, pictured above. Here the chain securing the mooring had actually snapped! There had just not been enough flexibility in the mooring line to allow the heavy boat to rise and fall in the swell. And the lessons here?
- How flexible is your business?
- How reliant are you on one key client/ product/ person/ etc?
- Ask yourself; what if that one key component failed how would the business cope?
- Many small businesses are totally reliant on the owner, if a business is to avoid the inevitable they MUST be able to adapt and grow beyond the capability of one person.
Finally, we came across a trimaran washed up on the beach, its hull was covered with barnacles, mussels and weed, its mooring rope was rotted, the thing was just unloved and had been “dying” for years. Finally it was on the beach for the world could see its sorry state. This one I think provides some very common parallels for business owners;
- How much do you love your business?
- Do you care for it, nurture it and keep it fresh with the newest equipment and ideas?
- Or do you find it a chore to get up every morning and face its never ending demands?
- If its the latter you need to do something quickly or either yourself or your business could well end up on the beach!
Remember it’s never too late to make improvements in your business, all you need is a vision and to take the first step then your on your way!