I seldom watch Dr. Phil, but I do like a line that he has made famous—“How is that working for you?” The basic idea is that if you are doing something that isn’t working out well, maybe you should try something different. We can usually see when someone else is spinning his wheels, but recognizing the same behavior in ourselves can be more difficult.
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Are you getting the results that you want? If the answer is no, then you need to re-evaluate your actions. And more importantly, you need to re-evaluate your thinking.
Ultimately, our ideas determine our actions. What we think determines what we do. If we don’t change our thinking, we can’t change our actions.
For example, I once was consulting a contractor who was having trouble generating leads. “I’m doing retention and proximity marketing,” he said, “but I’m not getting enough leads. I’m running out of marketing money.” I suggested that he do door hangers, which he did. But he didn’t follow my advice completely.
When I suggested door hangers, I meant (and said) that he should hand them out himself. He was sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. Instead of spending the day twiddling his thumbs, he should have been pounding the pavement. However, he found it easier to hire someone else to do this, at a cost that quickly depleted his remaining marketing funds.
This particular contractor refused to question his own thinking. He believed that doing door hangers was a different approach to his problem, but in fact it wasn’t. He believed that throwing money at a problem was the solution, and so he continued to throw money around, even as it dwindled. He didn’t change his actions because fundamentally he didn’t change his thinking. And as a consequence, he continued to get the same results.
The Goal, by Eliyahu Goldratt, was first published in 1984 and has become one of the most popular business books ever published.
Written in novel form, The Goal traces the story of a struggling factory and how its employees turned it into a profitable operation. By identifying “bottlenecks” managers were better able to manage resources and improve overall production.
The Theory of Constraints introduced in the novel states that the maximum output is limited to the maximum output of the “bottleneck”. Put into other terms, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
As the story unfolds we learn that managers often focus on the wrong things. While statistics and measurements can be useful tools, they are valuable only to the extent they help us achieve our primary goal. And in the context of business, all companies share the same primary goal– to make a profit.
Measurements of efficiency, for example, can be misleading. If we focus on maximizing the efficiency of each step of a process, we might actually decrease the efficiency of the overall process. That is, we must look at the big picture before we look at the details. And when we examine the details, we must always remain focused on the big picture.
In the context of a factory (the setting for the novel), this might mean keeping a particular machine idle at times. If the machine produces more than the next step of the process can handle, the excess accumulates as inventory. Both the inventory and the manpower used to produce and move increase expenses. In this situation management should focus on increasing “throughput”, that is, the amount of product available for sale.
The significant message in The Goal is the process of discovering and correcting “bottlenecks”. But this process is not a one-time event. It is a continuous process, or as the subtitle states: “a process of ongoing improvement.”
Few books can be called revolutionary. The E Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber, is one such book.
This best seller presents a compelling argument for entrepreneurs to look at their business differently. Gerber points out that many entrepreneurs start a business doing something that they love, believing that their days will be filled with an enjoyable activity. However, as the business grows, and new employees must be hired, the owner quickly discovers problems that previously did not exist.
These new employees don’t have the experience and motivation of the owner. They don’t have the same drive and desire as the owner. While the owner recognizes the need to train his employees, it is the nature of that training which often proves inadequate.
While sitting in a McDonald’s one morning, killing time between appointments, Gerber wondered why the Golden Arches were so successful. Most of the employees were teenagers possessing few job skills. Yet the quality of the service and the product was similar in every store.
Gerber realized that the company’s success derived from its approach to the business. Each step of the process was carefully analyzed, and then procedures and policies were developed. That is, a system was developed, and when followed, the system virtually assures success. Thus, a McDonald’s in Houston operates almost identically to one in London, and with very similar results.
Throughout the book, Gerber exhorts the reader to work on his job, not at it. In other words, develop a systematic approach to each job within the organization. In the process, the success of the business is less dependent upon any one individual. As with McDonald’s, the system becomes the key to success.
Of course, this is usually easier said than done. Within any business, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tasks must be performed. Often, the owner has automatized these tasks, and performs them with little or no conscious thought. Yet, he must identify and then explain each of them clearly. Systems, and their documentation in an Operations Manual, is the key to becoming a true business owner, rather than the owner of a job.
For a contractor seeking to get Out of the Bucket, production oversight becomes a critical issue. With the owner no longer supervising the job, insuring quality and customer satisfaction is crucial to a successful transition.
By developing production procedures and policies, and then properly training production personnel, this transition can go smoothly. The owner can then spend his time working on his business, rather than in it.
Recently I have received criticism on Paint Talk. The criticisms have varied somewhat in their content and focus, but they essentially come down to this: If my system is so great, then why do I spend time trying to sell it rather than simply implementing it in my business.
This is a legitimate question. However, it is a misrepresentation of what I sell and what I hope to accomplish with Out of the Bucket. I am not selling a system; I am selling the concept of systems. There is a world of difference.
I do not purport to have all of the answers in regard to the details of operating a painting business. However, I will claim that, no matter what type of business you have, no matter what kind of market you serve, no matter your ambitions, systems will help you.
Certainly, the materials I sell and the advice I offer are based on my systems. I don’t know any other systems. I offer, as a way to illustrate the benefits of systems, the particular processes and procedures that I have developed for my business. I am not so naive as to believe that my way is the only way. I am not even convinced that it is the best way, which is why I continue to participate in forums, read books, and try to learn.
If I offer specific advice to a problem, it can only be based on my experiences. I cannot offer advice based on experience I do not have. If I explain how I deal with a particular issue or problem, it is because I have found that that approach is usually successful. It would be dishonest to offer advice that I have found doesn’t work.
I won’t respond to these critics on Paint Talk because it only fans the flames. Further, I do not care to spend the time to correct their misconceptions. If they read my posts carefully, they would realize that I have never pushed “my system”–I have advocated for systems in general. And I will continue to do so.
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