What Are You Building?

What Are You Building?

By

Eric M. Twiggs

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." - Bruce Lee

During my days as a district manager, I had the opportunity to witness the building of several new locations.  The builders would arrive on site, and we would review the drawings.  I could see how many bays we would have, the layout of the customer waiting area, and total facility square footage.  As I observed, I noticed an interesting trend. The actual building process began the same way every time.

They never started with the exterior lighting.  They didn’t begin by building the roof. They didn’t list plumbing as the priority.   The building process always began by establishing the foundation. I often wondered why they began this way. 

And then it hit me:  You can’t expect to have a strong location, if it’s built on a weak foundation.  

You may be thinking: “Nice story Eric, but I don’t need a foundation. What I need is new customers!”  OK, I get it.  Starting with the foundation isn’t as sexy as the latest car count changing “silver bullet.”

I challenge you to consider the following trend:  During the tough times, those who cry the most about low car count, are those with the least amount of focus on their foundation.   Meanwhile, the owners who’ve built the right way, are experiencing success even though it’s an election year and all the vendors say it’s slow! 

So what foundational focus items should you consider?  Stay with me because I’m building towards the answer.

People

While conducting research for his book Good To Great, Jim Collins examined the performance of over fourteen hundred companies over a forty year time span and found eleven that produced great results on a consistent basis.  The CEO’s of these organizations had one trait in common: They began the building process by focusing on the people.

Collins uses the “the bus” metaphor to describe their step by step process.  Their first priority was getting the right people on the bus.  Next they focused on getting the wrong people off the bus. Lastly they made sure the right people were sitting in the right seats.  Great leaders don’t focus on where “the bus” is going, until they address getting the right people on it and in the right seats. 

Take a hard look at your service writers, technicians, and support staff.  If you could turn back the hands of time, would you enthusiastically rehire everyone based on what you know today?  If you answered “no” for 50% or more of your staff, it’s an indication of a fragile foundation. 

Processes

So once you get the right people in the right seats and get rid of the wrong ones, your foundation is set right? Wrong!   It’s hard to drive your shop forward if the right people don’t know what to do.  This is why having written processes is a critical part of your foundation. 

Your processes are solid if you have the following three items in place:  1. An updated employee handbook with detailed policies.  2. Current job descriptions for every position. 3. Written operating procedures for every task.   

The more routines you have in writing, the less dependent the business will be on your presence.  Your routines will set you free.

The key is to work on finding the right people while you’re establishing the right processes.  Don’t make the mistake of allowing “perfect” to become the enemy of “progress.”  Getting the right people in each key position takes time.

If you delay your search until you’ve perfected your processes, you won’t be prepared if you lose a current employee unexpectedly, or if you suddenly become unavailable.  As mentioned in a previous blog, betting that you’ll always be available is much riskier than recruiting for your replacement.

Summary

As anyone with beachfront property will tell you, the best time to establish a strong foundation, is BEFORE the storm comes.  Building your business with strong people and processes will allow you to prosper while your competitors and vendors complain about the economic storms.  What are you building? 

 Sincerely,

Eric M. Twiggs

The Accountability Coach

www.autotraining.net

PS.  I have a new list of competency based interview questions to help you get the right people on your bus.  Email etwiggs@autotraining.net  and I will send them to you.