Why do we do things this way?
I have traveled from the east coast to the west coast, Boston to Los Angeles over the last 25 years working directly with small business owners, their management teams & employees, and most of the time, I ask the question, “Why do you do it this way?” A very high percentage of the time, the answer is usually, “We don’t know, we have always done it this way.”
That simple statement is usually a confirmation that there has been very little change or thought put into that process or procedure from a financial and/or operational vantage point. Many of the small businesses have operated for a longer period of time and they have survived and continued their operations, which is the good news. Many times, the bad news may be that they have not been getting premium results from the underlying business operation because they are doing things the same way 20 or 30 years later. We have all heard that change is the only constant over time and that certainly applies to the small business arena.
Most owners are usually aware that there may be something off within their business model, but they may not be quite sure what is off and/ or how to address the underlying issue and create a solution to the affected areas of their business. One of the common dynamics I have noticed is the owner or owners misdiagnose the underlying issues in their companies and then apply a supposed fix to the underlying misdiagnosis. That will usually create more of a problem than they had initially. Most owners address the symptoms of an underlying issue within their business and never determine what the real disease is. That is very common. Trying to manage the symptoms of a problem on a day-to-day basis will keep you very busy but may not cure the underlying disease. It’s like eating tomato soup with a fork, you stay really busy, but you don’t get much soup. This concept can apply to any piece or part of your underlying company. It will usually exist in multiple areas and not just one isolated situation. I am not suggesting that you cannot operate your company in the way you deem appropriate, but I am suggesting that there may be a negative consequence or result from continuing to pound square pegs into round holes, as an owner.
If you ask yourself why you do something a certain way and can’t really determine specifically why, you may want to back up and review the process, procedure, policy & results you’re getting from your underlying business. It may be a simple fix, or it may be part of a much larger underlying business disease within your business model. This may not apply to every small business, but it will apply to a large percentage.
