Comfortable routines. I used to "wing it" everyday, with every part of my day, but I've found comfort in routines. I get up at 530AM, workout, shower, make breakfast for the kids, and head off to work. I have enough time to walk the labyrinth, check email, and make lists before my crew comes in, then I start them working, then go back to the office for my work. Aaaah, routine.
You probably have routines too, and the probably bring you comfort. The good news is they also bring you efficiency. It would be inefficient if your crew came in a a different time each day. It would be inefficient if you woke up sporadically and never had the same amount of time each morning.
Building routines into your week can save you hours of time. If you always review inventory and ordering on Monday, it's never a surprise! You know not to plan other tasks for Monday, so you get fewer interruptions.
Routines are good, except when they aren't.
Routine or auto-pilot. A good routine is a system by which repetitive tasks can be efficiently completed with minimal thought. Routines should take the load off of your brain because you don't have to think about them.
Danger arises when you shift from routine to auto-pilot. The key difference is that when you move to auto-pilot, you are allowing decisions to be made in a routine without applying critical thinking.
Inventory example. Collecting inventory levels, items, reorder needs, and reports should be routine. If you continually stock items that aren't really selling, or items on which the margin has shrunk below profitability because you have always ordered them, you are on auto-pilot.
Shoot down your auto-pilot. Every year we try to "shoot down" the auto-pilot. Big corporations do this by hiring outside consultants to examine the business with "fresh eyes". We do it by getting staff from one side of the operation to see the other side.
Take the "market girls" to the Fun Park, bring the "field boys" into the farm market. Take managers from each section around and ask, what seem like, dumb questions.
As the owner, you need to take a serious look around your farm for "sacred cows" that have been "out to pasture" for too long. How many crops do you grow, tours do you offer, attractions do you support only because you always have?!
Get out of town. In the coming weeks I get to travel to see our new locations, existing clients, meet some new friends, and connect with old friends (NAFDMA Advanced Learning Retreat - wo-hoo!).
It will be a whirlwind tour from coast to coast thousands of miles driven and flown, but so totally worth it that I'd rate it as my favorite part of the job.
When I get out of town to see other operations, help clients, and be with like-minded people, I am purposely breaking the routine, the auto-pilot of the "daily grind". It's a break for me and my staff!
Perspective on your own "cows". When you travel to learn and help people solve their challenges, you gain perspective on your own operation. I'm looking for perspective on our own "sacred cow" projects. I killed two this past year (email if you'd like to know which projects died) and bred a whole new breed of product (see right column).
Neither killing nor breeding anew would have happened if I hadn't gotten out of town to see the world outside my comfortable routine.
Have a great week. - Hugh
PS If you missed the "Goal without a plan is a wish" live event, we recorded it for you to view anytime!
Reach us at: www.mazecatalog.com
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