
Machine Shop Tips The Business Yo-Yo
There are many things that can bother a person in their work and business life, but there’s one that really drives me crazy. I call it, “The Business Yo-Yo”. Every day I speak with business acquaintances and in these conversations we always seem to ask the standard question, “How is business going?” More than 95% of the time we only get two answers:
- It’s too busy
- It’s very slow
For some reason these two answers never seem to change. They’re a constant source of stress to everyone in the working world.
Being too busy means the stress is coming from not being able to properly meet obligations to our customers, coworkers and even our friends. Being too slow makes us feel insecure and wonder about the security of our job or position in the industry. Being too busy or too slow makes everyone uncomfortable.
The problem of being too busy or too slow is so large that new businesses and consulting agencies have sprung up to cope with each extreme; you get time/production management people who will give you advice on how to handle the issues involved with being too busy and on the other end you get the sales/business coaches who will help you with business development issues. It’s amazing how many different ways these issues are being addressed. It can be overwhelming.
I remember reading the expression; “Stop the world! I want to get off!” I really believe there’s some truth in this expression. Okay, I know I can’t prevent the world from rotating but I can stop what I’m doing and examine why there isn’t a third answer (instead of just too slow or too busy.)
I wish; “just right” was another routine answer.
After 40 years of addressing too busy/too slow in “The Business Yo-Yo” effect, I’ve come to realize I was being reactive instead of being proactive. I’d only been addressing the problems associated with a situation instead of actually preventing the situation from happening in the first place.
When it’s too slow, we ramp up our marketing/sales efforts. When it’s too busy we slow down our marketing efforts and address our productivity/capacity problems. This is wrong! These are all reactive ways to deal with problems.
To be proactive and prevent things from being slow we must be constantly and consistently working on our sales and marketing. This means we need to be promoting what is working and getting rid of what isn’t. We need to examine what’s working for other companies that are more effective than we are when it comes to sales and marketing and be innovative in our own efforts.
To be proactive against being stressed out when we’re too busy, we must be constantly addressing our productivity and capacity capabilities. Leaving these issues until it’s already busy is too late. When we consistently put forth innovative marketing, we know business will come our way, so we should be planning for it before it comes. Some people seem concerned about addressing capacity before seeing the results of their marketing efforts and I believe this is because they are reactive, not proactive. Being reactive does more harm to businesses and jobs than being proactive which, allows us to take control.
In order to avoid “The Business Yo-Yo” of being too busy or too slow we need to be proactive. Start today!