What happens when things don’t work
Some of us have been in business for a long time and others for a very short time. No matter how long we’ve been doing something, it doesn’t mean it’s right. How many of you head off to your office, shop or factory and set out to do the same thing you did last week, last month, or even 5 years ago? Most of us have done this in the past, and the reason most of us have or still do is because we are afraid of change, afraid to try something new. We think that by doing the same thing we have always done, we will somehow get a better result this year from last year. As Einstein once said, the very definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and somehow expect a different result.
Could you imagine if AFL coaches used the same systems, training and ideas they did 20 years ago? How boring and predictable would the game be? I remember back in 2000 when Essendon were the benchmark of the AFL, their players were quicker, fitter, more skillful, more confident and coached with the best game plan. In fact, only Carlton were a threat to them successfully winning the premiership undefeated, but they didn’t. The only club to defeat the Essendon Football Club in 2000 was the Western Bulldogs who finished a whopping 36 points behind Essendon on the table that year. Bulldogs coach Terry Wallace had devised a gameplay to beat Essendon, it was something that had not been seen before in the AFL.
In football (soccer), coaches change formation (number of defenders, midfielders and attackers they field in a game), but in the AFL, no one had ventured out of the traditional lineup. Terry Wallace decided that he would field a defensive team to be able to combat Essendon’s attacking play. It was boring, ugly, but it got the job done. Terry changed things again in the next game, fielding an attacking team. He knew that the team he fielded against Essendon was not his normal style of play, but he also knew that in order to win, he had to think outside the box and do something radical.
How many times have we been faced with challenges in our business but continue to do the same things and expect everything to be fine? How many times have we known that things have to change but haven’t done anything about it? This week do yourself a favor and do something about it. Make a list of all the things that need changing in your business. Pick three of the biggest things and work out a way to fix them with your team in the next three months.
By concentrating on just three things you won’t be overwhelmed with work and be able to think of many ways to fix or change those things. When the three months are up, you can then concentrate on the next three things. By the end of the year, you will have fixed or changed twelve major items in your business. I can guarantee one thing, each one of those items will have an effect on your bottom line.
Before you start, be sure to know what position you are in. Be sure to know your cash flow, financial position and financial performance. You will need to create some sort of budget and compare last year’s numbers to this year’s numbers and this years budget. Only then you can see what the results of your quarterly changes are.