“Mam, we only get what comes in on the truck.”
I had asked for a different flavor of yogurt to be carried at a local store. I started with can I request it. The answer was no. The computer does the ordering. Then I asked who I could talk to about this; I received the response “Mam, we only get what comes in on the truck.”
There is no question in my mind that we have all been walking through areas in our businesses and lives where we have been taking “whatever comes in on the truck”. Leaders have been scared to make the changes they need to make and have told themselves the story “we can’t afford to find a new X”. Generally, that X is a new employee to fill that role even though the current person is brining down the team, a new supplier that is more dependable with higher quality parts, or implement a new process that will ultimately save time or creates more revenue because our organization is resistant to change.
I am not sure what story you may be telling yourself right now, but I am guessing you have filled in the blank with your own X. If this is the case, instead of saying I don’t have time to do this, ask yourself what this is costing my business? Is the employee who isn’t a fit driving away your “A players”? Is continuing to deal with a low-quality supplier causing you to lose customers? Or is not implementing a new process or way of doing business costing your company to lose revenue.
Great organizations are not born out of mediocrity. They are born out of leaders who are willing to ask themselves the hard questions and respond with what is best for the business, not their convenience. What or where do you need to evaluate in your business to ensure you are successful this year?
