One of the greatest investments my parents made was to send me to Young Drivers of Canada to learn how to drive, and using the techniques their "defensive driving" approach teaches has quite literally allowed me to drive out of and avoid three serious car accidents in my lifetime. Yesterday provided the third.
The roads were a terribly icy mess all over town, and as I sat stopped in the middle of three lanes at a red light, my defensive driving habits kicked in and I checked my rearview mirrors to see what was happening behind me. I saw a car coming up in the lane to my left that was going fast enough that, given the conditions, I was pretty certain he or she wasn't going to be able to stop before the cars ahead in that lane. I worried he might try to ditch to the side and head my way out of instinct. So, I changed lanes and moved over to a vacant spot in the right-hand lane, just as this other car began a 720 degree spin around both the left (his) and the middle (previously, my) lanes.
Had I not been watching what was happening around me, in conjunction with an awareness of the general conditions all around, I would have had the side of my car smucked, and my day drastically altered for the worse. In "Trucker Management", we talk about having "rearview mirrors" in your business to always see what's gaining on you - namely, your competition. But in general, much of the ideas of Trucker Management at their core are simply about awareness - paying attention to your surroundings, whether its your competition, your physical space, your staff, your finances - whatever. The basic principles of defensive driving are much the same - simply being aware of all that is happening, and may happen, around you, so that you can proactively take steps to protect yourself, regardless of the actions of others.
Have you been "driving" your business defensively lately, always aware of the conditions and actions of others around you? Are conditions (ie. the economy) changing? How are others around you behaving in these conditions (ie. drastic price-cuts or blow-out sales by your competition to aid their cash crunch)? Do you need to "change lanes" to avoid a costly and inconvenient impact?
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