In order to achieve business success, we have to always evaluate the way we do things.
We Need to do the Right Things, Not the Things We Think are Right
Last week I chatted about Chico Fernandez and how his communication style and storytelling showed how communication was the key successful connections. I wanted to share the second valuable lesson I learned from that evening.
Most of us who have fly fished have seen the movie “A River Runs Through It”. All of the posters and trailers for this movie showed Brad Pitt’s character fly fishing with these tremendously beautiful long casts. And of course those of us men want to duplicate that, what a boost for the ego to effortlessly cast a fly one hundred feet. Unfortunately, those casts are rarely called for in the world of saltwater fly fishing.
Chico explained that when your fishing flats for bonefish, redfish or tarpon a lot of times you rarely see the fish when they are hundred feet away to cast to them, usually they are within fifty feet and never straight out in front of you. He then asked the question that stunned us all. Why do we practice long straight casts since this rarely if ever happens? We knew we all do it! And the answer was really ego. He told us to be a really great fisherman we needed to practice what we may actually encounter on a trip, not what made us feel good.
Practice short 15 to 40 foot casts at different angles in front of the boat. And be quick and smooth.
A Real Life Example of When to Change
So you are probably asking yourself, OK Michael, what does this have to do with business? I have a friend that is a business coach in Minnesota. One day she shared the story of an auto body repair shop she was coaching. This shop like all others in the areas was constantly marketing to repair cars that were totaled. These were very high revenue jobs, but once a deep examination was completed, they were not really all that profitable. The owner and the coach then studied the numbers on the small dents, scratches and dings. These were very low revenue jobs when compared to the totaled out cars, but the profit margin was significantly greater. So much so that the owner started sub-contracting out the high revenue projects in exchange for the low revenue, but highly profitable scratches and dings. His competition thinks he is crazy and he is. Crazy with profits!
My challenge to you today is look at the things you think are very important. Are they really setting you up for success in your daily business life? Share a time when you realized you were doing the wrong thing and then changed to practice the really important stuff.
If you would like an analysis of any process in your business feel free to contact me at michael@teachyourbusinesstofish.com. for a complimentary one hour business assessment.