Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good
leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their
own bar. Orrin Woodward
Have you ever wondered what you could do to get the
jump on your competition? The answer came
to me as I was watching a
video presentation that was conducted by motivational speaker Gary
Ryan Blair where he
provided the following detailed data on the sporting event known as the
competitive high jump.
During the competition, a bar is placed between two poles
and the athlete is challenged to jump over it to the other side.
Once the competitor clears the initial height, the bar is raised. Whoever can clear the highest level is the winner.
During the first recorded high jump, the winner cleared a
height of 5 feet, 6 inches. Several years later the bar was
raised to a world record 6 feet, 5.5 inches. To clear that
height, the jumpers used a method known as “the scissor kick.”
The athlete would approach the bar backwards jumping over it
kicking the first leg over and then the second. The first athlete
to do the scissor kick was able to set a new world record.
The scissor kick worked fine until it was time to raise
the bar. Competitors developed what’s known as the western roll, where
the jumper approached the bar facing forward, kicking the inside leg up and
clearing the bar belly first. The first user of the western roll
technique established a new world record.
The western roll worked fine until it was time to raise
the bar. In 1967, an athlete named Dick Fosbury
invented “the Fosbury Flop” where the jumper twists his body and goes over
the bar on his back. This technique caused the world record to be
raised three different times!
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Great info Twiggs,
but what does this have to do with me?”
Well, in the
competitive climate of automotive service, the bar is constantly being raised. If
you’re still doing “the scissor kick,” your attempts to clear the new
height will “flop.”
You’ve heard of “always be hiring” right? Sounds great, but your
competition has signs and ads everywhere, just like you do.
You’re familiar with the phrase “always be marketing!” Well so
is the shop down the road. They use blimps,
banners and billboards, just like you do.
Here’s the big takeaway from the high jump Illustration: The
best way to get the jump on your competition is to “always be improving.”
Committing to consistent improvement is an uncomfortable journey. It
requires choosing to play the long game, instead of seeking immediate
gratification.
Since most people are
unwilling to do what’s uncomfortable, this level of commitment will differentiate
you in your market.
Stay with me to learn how you can embrace the “always be improving”
mindset, so that you get the jump on your competition.
Own Your Results
“Eric, there aren’t any good technicians out here anymore!” This is
what a shop owner named “John” said to me a few weeks ago.
He would spend 80% of his time working IN his business as the “A”
technician. John and I were in agreement
that finding the right technician was his biggest problem.
So I asked: “John, how many candidates did you interview during the
month of June?” I could hear the
crickets on his side of the phone.
To which I replied, “Ok, how
many interviews did you conduct in May?” All I heard the sound of silence.
Since John didn’t believe the results were his fault, he didn’t
make any attempts to improve is methods.
After our
conversation, John took full ownership of his situation, by admitting that HE
was responsible for his staffing levels. As a
result, he was able to commit to interviewing a minimum of two candidates
per week.
We agreed that if he couldn’t find two people to interview, he would continue
to improve his advertising and networking methods until he cleared the
“two interviews per week” bar.
Before you laugh at John, please answer the following question: What
specific results in YOUR business do YOU need to start owning?
Conclusion
So, there you have it. If Dick Fosbury
had blamed the weather, the stadium, and the bar height, for his failures, he
would have never invented a new method to succeed
Likewise, if you commit to owning your results, you can always
be improving, and get the jump on your competition. Your accountant will need to raise the
bar on your next profit forecast!
Sincerely,
Eric M. Twiggs
The Accountability Coach
PS. Email me at etwiggs@autotraining.net
to receive a checklist to help you create new methods to clear the car count bar.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments, good or bad, are always welcome.....If you have something to share to can help others please jump in..