As many of you know, I spend a lot of time traveling across the country, usually on airplanes. One of the nice things about flying from the West Coast back home to Michigan is that occasionally you catch a pretty good tailwind that can shave some serious time off your flight.

A while back, I was flying home from Phoenix, a trip that typically takes about four hours. Well, we caught one of those incredible tailwinds and managed to make the flight in under three hours!

I was fired up at the thought of getting home a bit earlier.

Unfortunately, as any frequent traveler knows, arriving that far ahead of schedule can sometimes be both a blessing and a curse. Sure, you’ve saved all that time in the air, but there’s a pretty good chance nobody is ready for you when you land.

That’s exactly what happened.

We landed, taxied toward our gate, and for a moment I thought we were going to pull right up. Then we stopped and waited, and waited some more. Finally, the captain came over the loudspeaker.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve got some good news and some bad news.”

Now, if you fly as much as I do, those are words you never want to hear from the captain. It’s his delivery that was priceless.

He said something along these lines,

“We’ve managed to fly this state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar aircraft with precision accuracy all the way across the country. We’ve saved fuel, avoided bad weather, caught an incredible tailwind, and arrived almost an hour ahead of schedule.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that we now need a guy with a three-dollar flashlight to guide us the last 25 feet to the gate.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Then I started thinking. Because as you’ve probably figured out by now, whenever something like this happens, I can’t help but look for a Quarter Turn.

Where Are Your Three-Dollar Flashlights?

Think about all the technology we have at our disposal today. The incredible tools, systems, and resources that allow us to accomplish things that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. We can automate processes, analyze information, communicate across the globe, and accomplish more in less time than ever before. Still, in the middle of all that innovation, many of us are still relying on our own versions of the three-dollar flashlight.

Why?

Because that’s the way we’ve always done it.

If you’ve followed my Quarter Turns for any length of time, you know how I feel about that phrase. In fact, when I hear it being tossed around an organization, I start getting a little concerned. Because “the way we’ve always done it” can become one of the biggest obstacles to growth, innovation, and improvement.

We All Have Them

I started thinking about some of the three-dollar flashlights in my own business.

The manual processes. The systems I’ve been reluctant to change. The administrative tasks that take far more time than they should. The things I continue doing the same way, not necessarily because they’re the best way, but because they’re familiar. I’m guessing you’ve got a few of those in your business as well.

Maybe it’s a reporting process that nobody really needs anymore.

An approval system that requires five people to sign off on something that should take five minutes.

A meeting that happens every week simply because it’s always been on the calendar.

Or maybe it’s a technology or process that made perfect sense five or ten years ago but no longer serves the needs of your organization.

Here’s the problem.

Just because something has always worked doesn’t mean it’s still the best way to get the job done.

And sometimes the very systems and processes that helped us become successful are the ones preventing us from reaching the next level.

The Real Cost of the Three-Dollar Flashlight

Think about that airplane for a moment.

We had just flown across the country in a multi-million-dollar aircraft, using some of the most sophisticated technology available. We saved nearly an hour of flight time. And then we sat there waiting to travel the last 25 feet.

Look, I’m certainly not suggesting that airport safety procedures aren’t important. That experience made me think about how often we allow one outdated process or unnecessary step to slow down everything else we’re trying to accomplish.

We invest in better technology. Hire talented people. Develop new strategies. Work harder to become more productive. Then we allow an old habit, system, or process to become the bottleneck that keeps us from moving forward.

Sometimes the smallest thing we’re unwilling to change becomes the biggest obstacle to our success.

Quarter Turn Action Step

This week, I’d like you to take a look at your business, your team, or even your personal life and ask yourself a few questions.

Where are my three-dollar flashlights?

What systems, processes, or habits am I hanging on to simply because that’s the way I’ve always done them?

What am I spending time and energy on that could be done more efficiently?

And most importantly,

What might become possible if I were willing to do something differently?

You don’t have to overhaul your entire business overnight. Start with one three-dollar flashlight. Find a better way. Make a small change, and see what kind of impact it creates.

The way you’ve always done it might have gotten you this far, but it may not be the way that gets you where you want to go next.

Until next time,

Here’s to you and your continued success.

And getting rid of a few of those three-dollar flashlights.

One Quarter Turn at a Time.

 

Thoughts for the week:

“The Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones.” -Unknown

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” -John Cage,

Looking forward to our next connection

Coach Tim