In our book, Trucker Management, we propose that small business owners use "Circle Checks", similar to those used by truckers to check on the safety of their rigs, as an easy, concise way to keep track of all the small details in their businesses, and to present their best image to customers, employees, etc.. The idea is that if you are regularly forced into taking a few minutes to step back from your business and eyeball things the way impartial third parties would, by having to complete your Checklist, you will see things that you might otherwise miss amidst your busy work each day.
I'm sure there are many business owners who would scoff at the need for something like this, already feeling like they are in relatively complete command of their business, tuned in to everything such that a Checklist is nothing more than a silly nuisance that would add no value.
Now we have some pretty powerful support for our Checklist approach. I recently saw an interview on TV with the author of the new book "The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right". In the book, he argues that no matter the level of expertise one has in what they are doing, performance can be improved by the regular use of checklists - establishing routines to follow each and every time, no matter how well-prepared you otherwise think you are for the task at hand.
His first example, of course, is airline pilots. Here is a group of people who are well trained and expert in their field, but who regularly use checklists to ensure their optimal performance (ie. arriving safely). But what the author, Atul Gawande, did was extend this rationale to unusual places. He is a surgeon, perhaps the single group of professionals who we perceive to be as trained as they could possibly be, as expert in their fields as one could become. Once his surgical team implemented the use of checklists, they saw all sorts of dramatic results in terms of declines in rates of infection, etc. - very real, important, tangible results, from a group of uber-trained professionals who might otherwise think they wouldn't need to use a tool like a checklist.
I haven't yet been able to read the book, but it is next on my list and I am anxious to get into it. It has received rave reviews already from the likes of Malcolm Gladwell and Steven Levitt.
So, I hate to say "we told you so", but......"We told you so!!". No matter how expert you think you already are in your business, no matter how well you think you have things under control, even surgeons have found remarkable results from using a checklist approach. The changes for your business in using our Circle Checks might not be as dramatic as saving a human life, but could it be as much as saving the life of your business??
Showing posts with label circle check. Show all posts
Showing posts with label circle check. Show all posts
Outside feedback....from WAY outside
At a keynote presentation I made a few weeks back, I learned of an interesting project that the business owners of that town had recently undertaken. They had arranged for business owners from another town about 200 kms away to spend a day secretly visiting their businesses, and examining the town as a whole for how it assists them by way of signage directing visitors to the main commercial area, etc.. They, in turn, then spent a day in the other city returning the favour, and afterwards, the two towns exchanged reports on what they saw, where they felt improvements could be made, etc..
While these folks ended up disappointed with the quality of the report they received from the other town, I think the idea is a great one. In Trucker Management, we talk about the need to have people other than yourself (employees, customers, etc.) do the same Circle Checks of your business space that you should be doing, in order to get an unbiased, third-party evaluation. This idea of partnering with people who pose no immediate competitive threat to your own businesses by being geographically distant enough, simply takes that notion of independent feedback to the next level.
Perhaps you should consider approaching your local Chamber of Commerce or other business association to organize a similar partnering program for your city or town!
While these folks ended up disappointed with the quality of the report they received from the other town, I think the idea is a great one. In Trucker Management, we talk about the need to have people other than yourself (employees, customers, etc.) do the same Circle Checks of your business space that you should be doing, in order to get an unbiased, third-party evaluation. This idea of partnering with people who pose no immediate competitive threat to your own businesses by being geographically distant enough, simply takes that notion of independent feedback to the next level.
Perhaps you should consider approaching your local Chamber of Commerce or other business association to organize a similar partnering program for your city or town!
What's your Sign say about you?
I really wish I had a picture of this one, really. But I will try to draw you a mental picture of it. I was driving passed a very busy intersection on the weekend when I saw one of those light up changeable sign boards for a nationally recognized tutoring business. It started with 'does your 3-5 year old know how to read?' so it caught my attention as I have a 5 year old. So I continued to read and was totally shocked at the next line - 'bring them in so we can touch them'.
WOW!
I hoping that they either meant touch them as inspire them to read or 'teach them'. Someone really needed to be checking (AND FIXING) that sign on the way in. I can tell you one thing for sure, I'm in no hurry to take my son in to be 'touched'!
WOW!
I hoping that they either meant touch them as inspire them to read or 'teach them'. Someone really needed to be checking (AND FIXING) that sign on the way in. I can tell you one thing for sure, I'm in no hurry to take my son in to be 'touched'!
What's wrong with this picture?
I don't think this one needs explanation. What do you see? I think this store owner needed to use one of our circle check sheets!
Are you open?
Happy Mothers Day to me! Today, while I was having a nice hot bath while the family went to get me my coffee, a Trucker Management moment presented itself. Not to me, but to my hubby. He went to a different Starbucks then usual (that's where the problem started) and pulled into the drive thru, waited for about 10 minutes and no one came. So he pulled around front and finally found the hours on the door, which if he squinted just right it looked like they open at 7, but it was only 6:55am so he went to get gas first then would get coffee. He came back at 7:10 but still no one around. So he thought maybe they were just getting a late start and waited for another 10 minutes and still nothing. Finally he got out of the car to go read the 14 point font on the door for the hours and it didn't open until 7:30! So, he left and went to our usual store. The funny thing is, is that we use this exact example in Trucker Management. Most people need to know your hours when they're in the car. So test your hour sign, can be seen from the road, parking lot or car? Is it posted at your drive thru? Not to mention, that today it's the mothers who had to be up before 730 that really needed a coffee!
The holidays are over - can your customers tell??
I drove by a restaurant/banquet hall here in town yesterday, and their sign out front still said "Reserve now for our New Year's Buffet". I'm pretty sure they aren't talking about next year's already, and so this is an example of a business failing to do a proper and regular Circle Check of their premises. If they were practitioners of our Circle Checks, they'd have noticed this out-of-date sign right on January 1st or 2nd, and wouldn't be suffering the embarassment of now having it still up on January 17th.
For those of you who ARE already using the Circle Check in your business, this won't be an issued, but for those of you who aren't, or who maybe have slipped off the routine, TODAY is the day you need to look around your business and ensure that all evidence of the "holidays" is removed from your space. Are your decorations all put away? Have all your kind wishes for a great holiday season been removed (including from places like memo lines on invoices and till tapes)?
We're likely all sad that the holidays are over......but, fact is, they are. So lets make sure our businesses reflect it!!
For those of you who ARE already using the Circle Check in your business, this won't be an issued, but for those of you who aren't, or who maybe have slipped off the routine, TODAY is the day you need to look around your business and ensure that all evidence of the "holidays" is removed from your space. Are your decorations all put away? Have all your kind wishes for a great holiday season been removed (including from places like memo lines on invoices and till tapes)?
We're likely all sad that the holidays are over......but, fact is, they are. So lets make sure our businesses reflect it!!
Be a good driver!
Yesterday I presented a workshop in Barrie Ontario on networking. Driving there and back (and getting lost in the middle) I was on the road for 8 hours. Not a lot of excitement along the way, but one road sign did stick out and made me think about our book. I didn't have my camera and even in today's world of technology I can't seem to track down an image of it to share, but it said "Be a good driver, check your truck daily."
That fits so perfectly with the analogy we use in the book. "Be a good business owner, check your business (inside and out) daily." When was the last time you did a circle check or looked down at your dashboard?
That fits so perfectly with the analogy we use in the book. "Be a good business owner, check your business (inside and out) daily." When was the last time you did a circle check or looked down at your dashboard?
Expanding your circle check...and how we broke our own rules!
I was driving past a bus stop bench in town the other day that had advertising on it, but with all of the snowfall we have had here, the sign was almost completely invisible. The poor realtor (I think that's what was advertised) who paid for that sign for this month has been tossing money away, since no one can see it.
If they had expanded their Circle Checks of their "business", to include any offsite locations where their business is "present", and checked in on this sign, they could have gone and cleared the snow away themselves, so that their money wasn't being wasted. Its one thing to do your Circle Checks around your "main" business space, but any other physical presence you have should also be regularly reviewed.
And we're guilty of this ourselves..... We had created a Facebook event for our upcoming Kingston small business training on March 27th, but we both failed to notice that somehow it got posted in Facebook as March 17th. It wasn't until a potential attendee told us it said the 17th, that we knew it was incorrect....despite both of us having viewed the page several times. More evidence of the need for Circle Checks - those objective timeouts to view things differently, where you can spot problems that you might not notice in a quick passing glimpse.
Aside from your office or shop, where else are you "present" that you need to check up on today?
If they had expanded their Circle Checks of their "business", to include any offsite locations where their business is "present", and checked in on this sign, they could have gone and cleared the snow away themselves, so that their money wasn't being wasted. Its one thing to do your Circle Checks around your "main" business space, but any other physical presence you have should also be regularly reviewed.
And we're guilty of this ourselves..... We had created a Facebook event for our upcoming Kingston small business training on March 27th, but we both failed to notice that somehow it got posted in Facebook as March 17th. It wasn't until a potential attendee told us it said the 17th, that we knew it was incorrect....despite both of us having viewed the page several times. More evidence of the need for Circle Checks - those objective timeouts to view things differently, where you can spot problems that you might not notice in a quick passing glimpse.
Aside from your office or shop, where else are you "present" that you need to check up on today?
Support for the Circle Check
Recently we heard a presentation about the principles of lean manufacturing by Jim Beswick of Calgary, who helps companies become more efficient and successful by focusing on the processes and aspects of their business that lead to things that are truly valued by their customers, and minimize the time spent doing all the other "stuff" that customers don't care about.
One of the tools he talked about was an observation checklist, a tool he uses with businesses to have people simply stand still for a moment and watch what goes on, identifying things that are not working well, or efforts that are wasteful.
We were amazed at how similar this approach was to our own Circle Check, a tool that forces you to take that objective time out and stand back to look at your business space with fresh eyes. This approach of taking a break to see things as you don't normally see them amidst the mad day-to-day rush of work and business, is a necessary step to get a full view of your business, whether its monitoring the conditions of your physical space as with our Circle Check, or whether its reviewing efficiencies and waste as with Jim's work.
When was the last time you stood back and just "watched" your business?
One of the tools he talked about was an observation checklist, a tool he uses with businesses to have people simply stand still for a moment and watch what goes on, identifying things that are not working well, or efforts that are wasteful.
We were amazed at how similar this approach was to our own Circle Check, a tool that forces you to take that objective time out and stand back to look at your business space with fresh eyes. This approach of taking a break to see things as you don't normally see them amidst the mad day-to-day rush of work and business, is a necessary step to get a full view of your business, whether its monitoring the conditions of your physical space as with our Circle Check, or whether its reviewing efficiencies and waste as with Jim's work.
When was the last time you stood back and just "watched" your business?
Colored Pics from the Book
In our book (Trucker Management) we showcase some photos and businesses but the photos are in black and white. To get a real sense what we're talking about, it's best to seem them in color, so here they are.
The Quiet Try-It Method
Twice in the last month I've come across 2 businesses using the 'quiet try-it' method of launching their business. Now, coming from a marketing background, I'm used to the 'go big or go home' approach with big grand openings and big media announcements. So at first I wasn't totally into the idea of the quiet approach, but I'm always up for something new, and was happily surprised.
The first business was a very unique service offering in Kingston, a hair salon catering only to children. The quiet approach for them actually worked to drum up interest in this 'secret' new business with an invite only event. It got people murmuring about it all over town. And when the moment was right she then did a big grand opening.
The second business was a restuarant - a world where everything that can go wrong during a grand opening - DOES! By using the quiet method it gave them menu feedback, an opportunity to work out the kinks in the kitchen and create some revenue before the official launch.
This is like a pre-opening circle check, not just of the premise but of the actually service as well. Well Done!
The first business was a very unique service offering in Kingston, a hair salon catering only to children. The quiet approach for them actually worked to drum up interest in this 'secret' new business with an invite only event. It got people murmuring about it all over town. And when the moment was right she then did a big grand opening.
The second business was a restuarant - a world where everything that can go wrong during a grand opening - DOES! By using the quiet method it gave them menu feedback, an opportunity to work out the kinks in the kitchen and create some revenue before the official launch.
This is like a pre-opening circle check, not just of the premise but of the actually service as well. Well Done!
Word of Caution: 'Definitely' Circle Check Your Blog!
Well - you caught us! We didn't spellcheck one of our posts and we heard about it! We now have 22 people offering us editing services for our book. (Don't worry we've hired a professional team to edit and proofread the book so there won't be glaring mistakes like on the blog!) We should have heeded our own advice, it's a good lesson learned - CIRCLE CHECK YOUR BLOG ENTRIES!
The good news is that we know you read it! (Maybe that was our intention really). Thanks for the feedback, we've made the correction, and will be more careful in the future, so please stay tuned.
The good news is that we know you read it! (Maybe that was our intention really). Thanks for the feedback, we've made the correction, and will be more careful in the future, so please stay tuned.
The Subway Stations in Toronto - definitely not exceptional!
Matt and I ventured to Toronto on Friday for an e-Publishing workshop and couldn't help but do a circle check everywhere we went - including the subway station. For you Torontonians, you have probably become so accustomed to it that you don't even notice the physical surroundings, but for an outsider like me, it was barely 'comfortable' let alone 'exceptional'. In our book, Trucker Management, we talk about the difference between a business that makes it comfortable for their customers vs a business that makes it exceptional. So back to my day, the reality and what it could have been better.
When I got into the subway, as a newbie, I had no idea where to start. Did I need to find the appropriate subway station or do they all meet in the same place? There were some maps around on the walls that helped me, but there was only one person working in the booth and the line-up was at least 15 people long. I saw a machine marked "tokens", so I put the money in and out popped a token. The only problem was, I didn't know what to do with the token. Did I still need to wait in the line and give it to the person? Or did this token work in the drop spots in the turnstiles? I was also still apprehensive about putting my money in, entering, and then realizing I was in the wrong spot with no way out. Everyone around me was going so fast. I didn't see a smile or a person that looked approachable for support. So on I went. When I got to the platform (I was at Union Station) there were two sides, with two trains going different directions. Thank goodness one of them was the Yonge Train and where I was going to was on Yonge. If not, I may have ended up on some other adventure I guess. At the end of the journey, I arrived in one piece - and fairly quickly too.
So how could the TTC have made my journey exceptional? Here's some ideas:
When I got into the subway, as a newbie, I had no idea where to start. Did I need to find the appropriate subway station or do they all meet in the same place? There were some maps around on the walls that helped me, but there was only one person working in the booth and the line-up was at least 15 people long. I saw a machine marked "tokens", so I put the money in and out popped a token. The only problem was, I didn't know what to do with the token. Did I still need to wait in the line and give it to the person? Or did this token work in the drop spots in the turnstiles? I was also still apprehensive about putting my money in, entering, and then realizing I was in the wrong spot with no way out. Everyone around me was going so fast. I didn't see a smile or a person that looked approachable for support. So on I went. When I got to the platform (I was at Union Station) there were two sides, with two trains going different directions. Thank goodness one of them was the Yonge Train and where I was going to was on Yonge. If not, I may have ended up on some other adventure I guess. At the end of the journey, I arrived in one piece - and fairly quickly too.
So how could the TTC have made my journey exceptional? Here's some ideas:
- a big sign that says 'New to the TTC: here's some tips'
- having ambassadors in the crowd seeking out and helping 'newbies' like me
- providing better signage like 'you are here'
- audio messages reviewing the steps of using the TTC
- and maybe even more proactive and having information available on the train so that I could have read it ahead of time and being organized and prepared on arrival
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