In early March when the rest of the East Coast was getting slammed with snow, we here in the Boston area were pretty "lucky" with only heavy rains and wind. You have to live in the Northeast to appreciate near hurricane force winds and torrential downpours. (Note to Mother Nature: Please be kind and not make me the cause of a major snowstorm.)
As a result of the rain and melting snow my basement sump pump was running non-stop. Well, except for when it wasn't. If you've never owned a sump pump, that's a very bad thing.
Since the sump pump was only a couple of years old I figured it just needed to be adjusted. It would work for a while but then I would need to mess with it again. This went on for a few weeks.
Then one day I went down to the basement and discovered that the pump had stopped altogether. Luckily I caught it before there was too much flooding. Twenty minutes and a hundred dollars later I had a brand new sump pump and the problem was solved.
I hate to admit how much time and energy I wasted on this pump. Even worse, I hadn't thought through the real cost of this pump failing. I think I was more focused on the fact that it was only two years old and should not have failed.
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and move on.
Minutes after replacing the pump an owner in my mentor program called to discuss a problem employee. (You can see where this is going, can't you?) This is not the first time we have discussed this employee. The owner really wants the person to succeed but she's spending way too much time and energy on this person.
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and move on.
This advice doesn't apply only to people. I know retailers who hang on to a product line, determined to make it work, when what they really need to do is just dump it. What's the true cost of tying up cash that could be used for products that sell?
The same goes for an underperforming location you keep trying and trying to turn around. What if you could channel that time and energy into growing your profitable stores?
What about that "good" customer who no matter what you do returns half his purchases and sucks the life out of the staff?
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and move on.
This also applies to what you're not doing, or making the necessary changes to your business. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and invest in some additional help, or maybe a retail and customer experience expert who can also replace sump pumps. (Yes, shameless plug but I couldn't resist.)
So let me ask, are there any bullets you need to bite and then move on? Today's a great day to start anew.
As a result of the rain and melting snow my basement sump pump was running non-stop. Well, except for when it wasn't. If you've never owned a sump pump, that's a very bad thing.
Since the sump pump was only a couple of years old I figured it just needed to be adjusted. It would work for a while but then I would need to mess with it again. This went on for a few weeks.
Then one day I went down to the basement and discovered that the pump had stopped altogether. Luckily I caught it before there was too much flooding. Twenty minutes and a hundred dollars later I had a brand new sump pump and the problem was solved.
I hate to admit how much time and energy I wasted on this pump. Even worse, I hadn't thought through the real cost of this pump failing. I think I was more focused on the fact that it was only two years old and should not have failed.
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and move on.
Minutes after replacing the pump an owner in my mentor program called to discuss a problem employee. (You can see where this is going, can't you?) This is not the first time we have discussed this employee. The owner really wants the person to succeed but she's spending way too much time and energy on this person.
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and move on.
This advice doesn't apply only to people. I know retailers who hang on to a product line, determined to make it work, when what they really need to do is just dump it. What's the true cost of tying up cash that could be used for products that sell?
The same goes for an underperforming location you keep trying and trying to turn around. What if you could channel that time and energy into growing your profitable stores?
What about that "good" customer who no matter what you do returns half his purchases and sucks the life out of the staff?
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and move on.
This also applies to what you're not doing, or making the necessary changes to your business. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and invest in some additional help, or maybe a retail and customer experience expert who can also replace sump pumps. (Yes, shameless plug but I couldn't resist.)
So let me ask, are there any bullets you need to bite and then move on? Today's a great day to start anew.
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