Edition 7 – Are You Missing The Obvious

As most people who know me well, know, I’m an avid motor sport fan. This weekend is the start of the V8 Supercars Championship for 2016 with the running of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

I’ve eagerly anticipated the start of the 2016 season. Some new faces. The last year of the current regulations. And one of the last seasons of Australian motor sport involving some truly unique Australian motor vehicles – the Holden Commodore and the Ford Falcon.

When they take to the track tomorrow for the first series of practice sessions, let’s hope the teams don’t repeat what most of them did at Bathurst last year. And allow the obvious to become blinded by technology.

Let me explain.

Friday afternoon’s qualifying session at Bathurst 2015 was delayed as a result of the horrific crash that Ford’s Chaz Mostert was involved in. It meant the programme was back ended into Saturday morning.

The weather wasn’t too kind on Saturday. It turned cold. And it started to rain.

Technology is such an integral part of motor sport these days. It governs so much of the strategy and the race outcome. The teams employ technical experts to pour over data. Lap times. Fuel burn rates. Distance in seconds to their competitors.

Even checking the weather!

On that Saturday at Bathurst, all the teams were bunkered down in the pit garages, checking the weather radar. Technology said there was weather coming, but they’d have time during the session to put some good times down using dry weather tyres, on a dry track.

Except, it started to rain. Hard. At the top of Mount Panorama.

The track condition changed instantly. The favourites like Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom, whose teams were playing supposedly smart technical strategy, ended up stuck in the pit garage. They missed the opportunity to set a good time in the opening minutes of the session.

Through all the technology and all the strategy, the top teams neglected one thing. One fundamental aspect that was so simple, it was silly to have overlooked it.

They failed to step outside the pit garage to check the weather. They didn’t send a spotter to the top of the circuit to see what likelihood there was of weather moving in from the south west. They didn’t wander outside and look straight up into the sky.

They allowed themselves to be blinded by technology and strategy. And forgot the obvious.

Which got me to thinking?

What are the obvious things that most family businesses miss that are crucial to their success?

What do Family Businesses do to hide behind technology, and in the process, neglect the basics?

What are the smart things that a family business does, but which the client thinks is utterly silly and is of little value?

This Week’s Tip

What are the obvious things that you’re overlooking in your family business? And what is the cost of missing them?

Then think about what things you’re doing that you think are neat and advanced when all your client wants is basic and simple.