As some of you may already know, I am in the process of relocating to TX from MO. In fact, I am at the Hyatt in Austin right now as I write this because we came down for a couple of weeks to find a place to live.
I haven’t had a lot of time for posting, but I did want to put something out there, and the stay in the hotel here reminded me of a seminar from Steve Little about not letting your systems make you stupid. It really clicked with me, and has stuck with me ever since. I hope you enjoy!
Do Your Systems Make You Stupid?
This comes from a half-day seminar on the subject of small business growth co-sponsored by Inc. magazine and SunTrust. The speaker was Steven S. Little who wrote The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth. Steve has started, grown, and sold three fast growth companies prior to his career as a professional speaker who speaks, not surprisingly, on the subject of business growth. At least two of his businesses appeared on the Inc. 500 list.
Let me share one story (rule) of Steve’s and see if it speaks to you.
The Milkshake Rule…
Steve travels 140 days a year in his career as a professional speaker. He has come to grips with this travel schedule by promising himself a vanilla milkshake at the end of every travel day. He loves vanilla milkshakes so much that just the thought of rewarding himself with one makes the hassles of travel possible.
On one particular trip, he flew from Atlanta to Baltimore. He was scheduled to arrive at 6:00pm. He, however, found himself in line to check in to his hotel at midnight. Weather delays. “No problem,” he thought to himself. “It’s not too late for my vanilla milkshake.”
He finally gets checks in and gets up to his hotel room. He enters the room, drops his bag on the bed, picks up the phone and dials room service.
“Yes, Mr. Little. My name is Reginald. How may I help you?” is how he is greeted. (We both now know that he’s not staying at a Motel 6.)
“Reginald, I would like a vanilla milkshake please,” says Steve.
“I’m sorry, sir. We don’t have vanilla milkshakes,” is Reginald’s reply.
Not to be outdone, Steve asks, “Reginald, do you have some vanilla ice cream?”
“Yes sir.”
“Do you have some milk?”
“Yes sir.”
Steve says, “Reginald, I would like a big bowl of vanilla ice cream, a half a glass of milk, and a long spoon.”
Reginald replies, “Yes sir. We’ll have that up to you in a few minutes.”
Ten minutes later, a knock comes on the door and there stands a man with a big bowl of vanilla ice cream, a half a glass of milk, and a long spoon.
The question: Is Reginald an idiot?
I would think so, but Steve is not so sure.
You see, Reginald’s menu screen, the place he keys in the orders, probably doesn’t have a vanilla milkshake on it. And maybe he’s never been empowered to go beyond that menu. And maybe the only blender available is in the bar, not in the kitchen. And maybe …
You get the picture.
Steve’s point is this:
Don’t let your systems make you stupid!
Steve does this at every hotel he checks in to and he doesn’t stay at the cheaper properties. He says that he stays at 4 and 5 star properties. And the success rate for a vanilla milkshake, rather than the makings of a vanilla milkshake, is about 51%.
Moral of the story: Take a hard look at your systems — ALL your systems and processes. Are they there to solve your problems or are they there to solve your clients/prospects problems? Don’t let your systems make you stupid.
