- August 23, 2018 -
It was a blazing hot New Jersey day – and humid as hell.
One minute I was cruising down the Interstate from Philly to Cherry Hill (where I was living at the time) and the next minute, my car sounded like the engine was ready to blow up.
I was in my 20’s, a young, aggressive stock broker and had recently bought the car of my dreams – a BMW 328i.
I’m no car expert, but I knew that when the needle on the “RPM” meter shoots up to the top of the red zone, something is really wrong!
Fortunately, I was close to the dealer where I’d purchased the car.
I ran in, frantically explained what was going on…thinking all the while that I’d been sold a lemon.
The technician walked out with me to my car, took a quick look, turned to me and said half laughing, “Your leg must have accidentally hit the gear stick and pushed it out of automatic mode – you were driving in first gear the entire time.
“Your engine was working way harder than it had to. When you shift to higher gears, the way things rotate change...so the engine slows down while the wheels actually turn faster.”
Sh*t!
Not only did I learn a valuable “Engines For Dummies” lesson that day, it was a concept I’d remember years later when I had my own business.
As a business owner, you know exactly what it feels like to be stuck in gear one.
..working harder and harder in your business with your wheels spinnin' out of control.
Balancing the checkbook.
Responding to customer service related emails.
Doing free consultations or demos.
Answering the phone.
Servicing orders
Cleaning bathrooms
Putting out fires.
Sound familiar?
And even if you are delegating and getting things done, are your efforts being effective?
Or are you just making a lot of noise and working harder than necessary?
Peter Drucker, in his book The Effective Executive, makes an excellent point:
“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”
Did you catch the nuances there?
As the owner of your business, being effective means knowing where to focus your talents and time...and how to automate anything that can’t be delegated or outsourced.
It's as simple as that.
Simple in concept...but committing to strategically removing stuff off your plate and not grabbing them back is the tough part.
People, there are only three ways to make more money:
You know Newton's third law of motion: For every action there is a reaction.
Every action your prospects and customers take, there should be an appropriate reaction.
...they optin but don't confirm their email.
...they open an email but don't click on the link.
...they click on a link but don't book an appointment.
...they schedule a consult but don't show up.
...they get to your order form but don't give you their money.
You get the idea. Automation done right is a beautiful thing.
Time to get out of first gear.
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