Authored By: Luke Waite

Does everything have to be so fast?

I get it, every Joe, Julie and El from the Valley is saying that your business is supposed to feel like your wheels are about to fall off at any moment or you are not moving fast enough. But that sort of rhetoric sounds as if Joe, Jullie, and El, do not own the car they are driving and have zero regard for their own lives. If they did, they would say, “Maybe it is time to take the car in for a check-up since the wheels feel like they are about to fall off.”

Believe me, I get the gesture and the inference that is sought by this sort of rhetoric. So many people “work” jobs where they show up work their 8 hours of work having only really done 2 hours of work. In that case, I would say that you have simply hired the wrong people. Further, it appears that you have a cultural problem of hiring and maintaining employees who do not actually work for the amount of time that they are being compensated for.

I propose that the wheels do not need to feel like they are falling off but that maintenance and growth can and should go hand-in-hand. What if your team was working in such a way that they were executing their duties so effectively that they were able to also pull over, fix the problem, and keep on moving? This does two things: keeps the people inside the car safe and keeps the car moving. Thus, the team would be able to keep progressing without damaging the most important vehicle for growth that they had to begin with…the car.

Oh you are calling B.S.?

Idealistic you say? Yes, it is. But why is the common and most accepted way of thinking not? Why does the common way of thinking not offer the most intense manner of idyllic thinking known to man? Because it’s easier to break things for the sake of “forward movement” or growth than maintain what you already have.

Waste is the real issue.

If there was anything that hindered growth the most, it would be waste. In the last 10 years, I have worked for companies that wasted so little that I couldn’t comprehend how we completed projects with so few materials to begin with. Conversely, I have worked for companies that have frivolously thrown millions of dollars out the window as if they had it to spare. If you solve the problem of waste within your team you will have subsequently solved the feeling that the wheels are falling off. Why is this? It is because if you are moving so fast that the wheels feel like they are falling off you are no longer working for growth but rather working to just keep the car moving. In this mode of operation, the goal has shifted from reaching any particular goal to just keeping the car moving forward.

4 Steps To Successfully Grow Your Company Culture

I propose my 4 step plan for success:

1. Keep it clean.

Here’s your homework, name one thing that runs or operates better when it is dirty. Please let me know what you come up with, I would love to hear.

2. Keep it well oiled.

I used to work for an excavating company when I was just out of high school. My boss was a classic tradesman: rough hands, permanent suntan, and he drove a huge truck. I learned two key things from working for this guy. First, if you work hard you will gain the respect of the people around you. Secondly, it is better to take a few hours out of your week to maintain your equipment rather than waiting till something breaks to fix your equipment.

This concept is true if you have tools, a team, a building, a cafe, or a production line. Parts need to be replaced, people need vacations, and spaces need fresh paint from time to time. More importantly, you will be able to grow healthier more quickly if you maintain what you have.

3. Keep waste low.

Simple math here. Waste less, save more. Waste less time and your will grow faster. Waste less product and you will make more money. Waste less energy and you will have the energy for the things that really require your focused energy.

4. Keep it rockin!

Just because each decision is calculated and you are not pushing till something breaks does not give anyone a free pass to slack off. NOPE! Keep the movement going forward and keep pushing on to your goals.

If you follow these simple steps you, your team, and your business will be in such good shape that you will find that there is time for things that weren’t even budgeted for.