Looking For a Magical Cure

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get selected as one of the consultants in the "Consultants Corner" at HVAC Comfortech. Basically, attendees of the conference had an opportunity to sit one-on-one with a consultant of their choice for thirty minutes, free of charge. One of the participants was a man and wife who had been in business for several years and were facing some serious challenges. At the beginning of their session, they asked what my fee would be to come to their place and help them with all of the various challenges facing their business. I answered, "I'll need at least $8000 per day and I'm not sure how long it would take. It could take several weeks" Of course they thought I was crazy. I was trying to make a point. You wouldn't call up a neurosurgeon and ask to schedule brain surgery because you have a headache, and you wouldn't overhaul the engine in your vehicle when all you need is a tune up. Specific problems need specific fixes.

During our thirty minute session I asked them to try and focus on only one specific issue or challenge. They agreed. At the end of the session we not only came up with the most important challenge facing their business, we also determined a strategy to deal with it and an action plan to make sure the solution to the challenge is successful. All in less than thirty minutes.

We are always looking for a big fix, a magical cure for everything. As I told the couple who I was consulting with . . . Sometimes solutions are as simple as breaking things down to their most simplest form and dealing with the specifics rather that generalities. Too many times we fail because we want to take a shotgun approach to a problem or we just fail to address the specific issue at hand for some reason or other.

I'm currently reading a book titled "Six Disciplines, Execution Revolution" by Gary Harpst. He says that the biggest challenge facing business today is the lack of execution. I agree! Basically we all know what we need to do, we just fail to do it. In most cases you already know how to address the issues at hand, sometimes you just need verification from someone. Okay, here is your verification . . . Go ahead, I think it is a great idea!