Have you ever tried to improve and ended up in a worse situation?
If you know me, you know I’m an avid cyclist. Last year I joined a team, and we ride together every Wednesday and Saturday (weather and daylight permitting), and sometimes other days of the week. One recent ride, one of my teammates offered to let me borrow a set of aero wheels. Many cyclists use wheels like this to become faster without having to increase their effort. This happens because the wheels are more aerodynamic than stock wheels and are lighter weight.
I took him up on his offer, fully intending to have my favorite mechanic mount the wheels and make sure everything was working properly. So when I showed up for our next Saturday ride, imagine my surprise when my teammate said he was going to mount the wheels so that I could ride them that day.
Most cyclists can mount wheels on their bikes, especially since that skill is necessary to change a flat tire. So it wasn’t unusual for this not to be done by a mechanic. However, the gears are attached to the back wheel, and you must make sure that your bike still shifts smoothly and efficiently once you mount a new back wheel.
My teammate easily switched out the wheels and ran up and down through the gears to make sure I could shift. It turns out that he couldn’t get it to shift into the highest gear, but he insisted “you don’t need that one anyway”. True, but I like to have every option available to me when riding.
The team rolled out on the ride, and it was soon evident that I could not shift properly. It was difficult to shift into a lower gear, taking a few tries to get the chain to move and sit properly on the chosen gear. I spent the ride feeling much like Goldilocks without the Baby Bear option – it was either too easy or too difficult, never just right.
I was still able to ride with my group and complete the route, however, when I returned to my car it was evident that the ride took more effort than usual. I was more sore than I should have been for that distance and more tired. When I reviewed my performance metrics, the numbers showed a different story – I didn’t push as hard as usual and didn’t ride with the same intensity.
So what happened? It turns out that I wasn’t as efficient as I should have been. Because of the gear problems I was either spinning way too fast or pushing too hard in an incorrect gear just to keep up. Hence the unusual tiredness and soreness.
So how does this relate to your business? Your business can operate as normal (“that’s how we’ve always done it”) and achieve the desired results, however, it’s probably running inefficiently. With more standardization and defined processes, you could be more efficient and achieve more, without the exhaustion and pain.
As for me and my bike, I have an appointment with my favorite mechanic to fix the gearing problems ASAP so I can really test out those fancy wheels.
Creating or improving standard processes ensures you are delivering the same quality product and/or service to your customers every time. Contact me todayto learn more https://beckinsights.com/take-action
