SLOW DOWN TO GO FASTER

Why is it that certain thoughts and comments resonate with us? I was reading a book and came across a comment that I have read a hundred different times about a hundred different circumstances; but this time it caught my attention like never before. The comment was "we need to learn to work smarter, not harder to get ahead." I believe the reason this comment caught my attention is the turmoil in the world, at Sign Craft and in my personal life. While the world turmoil is at best challenging and at worst down right scary, the turmoil at Sign Craft and in my personal life is actually very exciting.

I have found that turmoil is usually caused by change. Note that this change does not have to be negative to create a stressful environment. Most people do not react well to change. Change normally involves taking a risk and risk has a tendency to increase the blood pressure. However, I am less interested in the reaction to change and turmoil than I am in the process I witness people take to new situations.

My slogan has been "slow down to go faster". What! Is that an oxymoron. How can you slow down AND go faster. When I read "we need to learn to work smarter, not harder to get ahead," it brings me right back to "slow down to go faster". I believe the basis of both of these comments is in the attitude, planning, education, communication, follow-through and review. In my observations, new situations are often met with bad attitudes meshed with ill-planned, un-researched solutions that are poorly communicated to those performing the project with no follow-up or review. Amazing how in these situations we get the same lackluster results. It is possible to change theses result by focusing on these key points. I will shortly discuss all of these below:

Attitude

A common reaction to change is to immediately go to the negative. Certain individuals can always come up with reasons why anything outside the norm should not be done. Please do not think they are not creative, some of the reasons they give are very creative. It is not that they do not care. I have found some of these naysayers to be the most dedicated and hard working individuals I have ever worked with. They are just pessimist and adverse to risk. Unfortunately, I would contend that pessimist have a tendency of making sure their fears are realized. I am not saying that all new ideas are great and should not be viewed with a bit of scepticism, however, opportunity does not always come directly and drop in your lap. Attitude and the willingness to do a detail review of new opportunities are critical. As stated by peace Pilgrim, "If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought."

Planning

Details, details, details. Most of our costly errors are created by not spending enough time in the details. This is the cornerstone of "slow down to go faster." We all have a tendency to get into routines. Routines are the ruin of planning. Because we believe we know all there is to know, we take shortcuts and circumvent the planning stage. The best planning systems created can be crushed by assumptions. By going through the planning process and including all that will have an impact on the outcome, we can eliminate routine and assumptions. Not all people are detail oriented. That is why it is crucial to have a detail oriented person involved in the process that will champion the planning phase. At Sign Craft, this falls on the GM and the Project Managers.

Education

We all get so busy that it can be difficult to keep up with the changes happening in our chosen field. This again leads to answers based on past experiences and is dangerous when the business environment is changing. Business is always in a state of flux. Even if there are not revolutionary changes happening in a specific industry, the interaction of that industry with the overall economy, and its employees, customers and vendors demands that we remain educated. Education is as easy as reading trade magazines, interacting with the leaders in your field, attending seminars or classes and several other conventional or unconventional methods of increasing our knowledge base. The death of many businesses has been the lack of knowledge of dramatic changes. Without knowledge, we can not prepare and potentially profit from changes and or advances in our given industry and the economy as a whole.

Communication

I have heard time and time again how nice it would be if we did not have to rely on anyone else for success. Unfortunately, this is very rarely feasible. Proper, timely and appropriate communication is the cornerstone of success. This is true for both internal and external communications. This is also a far reaching topic that others have spent years researching. My intention here is to highlight the importance of communication.

In the sign industry, quite a bit of time elapses between the placement of the order and the delivery of the sign. Unfortunately, the norm has been little or no communication with the customer during this “dark period”. Often, the first communication is that the signage will not be delivered on the due date. This is unacceptable. The customer should have a clear understanding of the status of their order at all times. In addition, they should not be surprised by what they receive as the final product. Finally, bad news or any news where the tone could be misconstrued, should not be done via email. It should be delivered by telephone or face to face.

Internal communication is no less important and is very similar. We all have to rely on others to get the job done. It is important that the information moves up and down the chain of command fluidly and accurately to assure that the customer receives a quality on time product. Again, errors occur because of assumptions. Through the use of proper communication, assumptions can be eliminated. Proper communication would encompasses the right people being informed at the right time with accurate information. It also is important that all the pertinent questions have been asked and answered, all the answers to open questions resolved and conveyed to the appropriate people and that any new questions that arise are directed to the right person. It is a ever moving circle of information.

Follow through

This is as easy as doing what we agreed to do. Again, this can be external as well as internal. Again, we must rely on other people. The basis of this reliance is a trust that the other person is doing what they agree to. If this is not the case, than communication needs to begin again and a new agreement reached. Problems will most always arise when we vary off the agreed upon plan. This is also true with customers, employees and vendors.

Review

Where proper planning is the foundation for the short term, review is the foundation for the long term. By doing an analysis of each process and/or job, we are able to determine where we could improve. This improvement can come in many forms such as efficiency, profitability, customer satisfaction or safety just to name a few. In addition, by including all parties in the review, we exponentially increase the benefits derived out of this review. However, these benefits are only as good as the changes we incorporate into the new processes/jobs. Review without implementation is a waste of valuable resources, time and money.

We need to learn to work smarter, not harder to get ahead. Slow down to go faster. Both of these statements demand that we engage our brains to derive better solutions. Throughout the day it is easy to find examples of people doing a process exactly like they did it the day before. When you ask why the do it that way, they will reply either, “this is the way I was taught” or “this is the way I have always done it”. If you follow up with the question, is this the best way to do it? They will often look at you perplexed. Many have not been asked to become part of the solution.

At Sign Craft, we want all of our people to take a critical eye towards their responsibilities and come up with a better way. This is not a one time look. Every job should be looked at as a chance for improvement. By working smarter, we can increase efficiencies and better serve our customers.