Shortcuts Can Lead to a Longer Road

I’m a true believer in efficiencies. I’ve seen comparable businesses operate with similar success but one made much more profit than the other. The only difference was efficiency. I don’t want you to confuse shortcuts with efficiency. They are two totally different things. We often look at shortcuts as “cheapening” a product. The shortcut is usually followed by, “the customer won’t notice the difference anyway.”

How many of you have stubborn drivers in the family? I know I can be one sometimes. “Forget the map, I know a shortcut.” Meanwhile I’ve just sent my family on a wild goose chase through backcountry trying to guess at a shorter path. And, yes, sometimes (ok, most of the time) the shortcut leads me to a road that went out of my way or delayed our arrival.

Impatience is the contributor to shortcuts. Entrepreneurs are so driven and passionate about what they do that sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that things aren’t moving fast enough. So we pull out our duct tape and patching tools and try to get our ideas to stick before they’re ready. You know, a good plan with a good strategy works like Elmer’s glue.

Remember in school? Using this white goopy glue would get frustrating. If you opted for taking your project home the art fell apart. However, those that left it to dry on the heat vents overnight returned to school the next day with a solid masterpiece!

Allow your ideas to take form. Allow your plan to be worked in a consistent venue. As you introduce your ideas to others you’re adding more pieces to the artwork. You’re feeding your prospects glue – meaning they’re interested but not fully committed. By being patient and staying consistent your prospects begin to see your benefits and slowly dry into your framework. Be patient. Keep using the glue, but give it a chance to dry!

- Joe Kiedinger -

ACTION PLAN: Give impatience the boot!