There are several metaphors - cliches all - for unnecessary complications in business and life. Road blocks. Spanners in the works. Red tape. Sacred cows (which apparently make the best burgers).
They all leave me with a faint sense that the person using the cliche is a bit of a cowboy (to use another cliched metaphor).
In our hectic current world, we don't lime to wait. We're busy, we're used to instant gratification, and we don't like being questioned. What do you mean why am I parking in the disabled space? I'm in a hurry! Don't be such a goody two shoes! No-one was using it and there are two others... See? Cowboys.
So I think a bit of speed limiting on the highway of life might be fine. Too often in business I see speed trumps outcome: forget the quality, look at those turnaround times! We don't want to just start with the end in mind, we want to keep it continually in mind if we want to arrive at our desired outcome.
Good communication is needed to explain the necessary roadblocks so people respect and comply with them. A less understood part of good communications is removing - or at least pointing out - the UNneccesary roadblocks. So don't just offer a good deal, make sure your sales staff enthusiastically support, even offer the deal. A customer shouldn't walk into your store and have to explain the nature of the offer to your staff. Or worse, require the intervention of the manager to obtain it. (Don't laugh, this is a common problem .)
As the old saying goes, a gentleman never unintentionally offers an insult. We all, whatever our gender, should try to be gentlemen.
This is post 19 (20?) of 43 posts.
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