Edition 381 – Battery Power

As I finished up a client meeting recently, we headed out into the car park together. We’re chatting about everyday stuff at this stage as we wander up to my car, which is parked next to his giant behemoth.

His transport of choice these days is one of those giant American trucks that are so big, they almost justify their own postcode. It needs two batteries to run the show and, of late, there’s been a couple of niggly little things that have played up with the vehicle. It’s nothing major, more a nuisance than anything else. At least, that’s what it seemed to be.

One day recently, the giant truck wouldn’t start. The battery was flat. My client had an immovable object on his hands. When he sent it off to his mechanic to check out what the issue was, it was discovered that one of the battery cells was dead. So, a replacement of the battery was required.

What struck me was how effusive my client was about the impact of the replacement battery. It’s like it changed the performance of the vehicle:

1. The radio, which had been intermittent, was back.
2. The dash, which had played up since purchase, was back to full functionality.
3. The beast had more grunt than it had ever done.

All of this, for replacing one of the least costly parts in the vehicle, yet something that, without it, none of us can get anywhere.

My client’s story about the performance of his truck had me thinking, what are the small issues in your business that, with refurbishment or replacement, could boost the performance?

1. Perhaps it’s the front end people and their enthusiasm (or lack thereof) that impacts the client experience.
2. Perhaps it’s how you finances are structured and how, with some tinkering, it could improve cashflow, business performance and overall stress levels for the owner.
3. Perhaps it’s the flow of how you go about your work, either on site, in store, in the office or out in the workshop. So often, I’ve walked into places and thought to myself “why isn’t this set up better?”.

Often, small changes in a business can create big impacts. Ironically, most people tend to think that it’s a big ticket item that needs overhauling, or a wholesale replacement of a major business line is all that’s needed to change the fortunes of the business. Yet, often, when I venture inside of small and family businesses, it’s tweaking that’s required. It’s the business equivalent of changing the battery,  not replacing the whole car, that can create a monumental shift in performance.

This Week’s Tip

“Makes you think, doesn’t it?
What are the small changes that could create the big impacts in your business?”