Wednesday, August 21, 2019
| | Entropy Busters® Series Three Summer Vacation Lessons that help you succeed in life and in business Volume 2 | Number 8 | August 2019 | | | | | The Dream…The Journey…Food for the Soul…
As many of you know, I'm an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer. When I need to recharge or re-energize my mind and soul, diving is my therapy of choice. We just recently returned from 2 weeks in French Polynesia. It was an absolutely magnificent trip, however; it did not start that way.
Three summer vacation lessons that will help you succeed in business and life. | |
Lesson #1 - Building the Dream
Each year my wife and I take at least one dive-related trip. These are not spur of the moment decisions; they are planned two and three years ahead. I've learned if you don't have a dream or a plan, it will never materialize. Additionally, the trip planning, learning about your future trip and the anticipation are almost as beneficial for the soul as the trip itself.
How does this relate to your business? - Team members want to be engaged and part of something bigger than their 9-5 responsibilities. Building the Dream and including team members in the vision/direction makes them part of something bigger.
- Having the team as part of the solution engages and motivated them, increases their self-confidence and gives everyone a chance to develop, grow and shine.
- What keeps people from dreaming? Their egos! What's the worst that could happen…? You dream of reducing inventory 50% and increasing customer satisfaction 30%. So, what if you miss it by a few percentage points? It's still likely better than not trying. Go for it! What do you have to lose? Park the egos and turn your dreams into reality! Without dreams what is the point?
 (Some business people claim to swim with sharks...I actual do!)
Lesson #2 – It's All About the Destination
We had a wonderful trip. However, it started out and continued to be, far from perfect.
Due to weather conditions in south Florida, we nearly missed our connection, which caused our luggage to be delayed two days. We had great plans for dressing up and nice dinners. Scratch that plan… But hey, we're on vacation! We finally got our luggage and the universe was in alignment.
We flew to our next stop and boarded the French Polynesia Master for the next 10 nights and 9 days of diving. What do we find? The boat that two years earlier had a 5-star rating, today is hovering around 2-stars. The food was poor and the dive skiffs overcrowded. The main boat broke down for two days; 50% of the dives were awful and two members of our group became ill. Yet, we focused on the positives; we had functioning bathrooms, air conditioning, and somewhat edible food, 50% of the dives were epic, and we were traveling with an awesome group.
When working continuous improvement initiatives, kaizen's or systems upgrades, don't dwell on the minor issues, but focus on the long team goals and the journey. The minor issues are the spice of life. No interesting story or learning comes from perfect situation. Go with the flow, adapt and follow your dream and vision, no matter the detours or obstacles thrown your way. This is where major lessons are learned and individual character is built. Remember, if it were easy, it would have already been done.
We could have let the problems ruin our vacation, but we were determined not to let that happen!
As a follow on to our dive trip, we added a day of whale watching. It was early in the season, and there was a good chance we would not see any whales. However, what did we have to lose? We spent 6 hours on a 24-foot skiff bobbing around the open ocean with no whales and just a few dolphins. But boy did we discover the Tahiti Teahupoo Pipeline! How awesome is that!!!  Lesson #3 – Food for the Soul
I did not realize how mentally drained I was before the trip. Normally, it takes three to four days for me to unwind, this time it was nearly one week! Without this down time to do something different with my brain, (in my case diving and underwater photography), the brain doesn't have the chance to: - Rest
- Free itself of clutter.
- Compartmentalize information.
- And thus, process multiple data sets/sources into meaningful solutions or options.
Additionally, I become clear-visioned, more patient with those around me, and more purposeful in my decisions. The feeding of the soul.
Are you and your team fresh and ready for the challenges that lie ahead?
My three lessons for: The Dream…The Journey…Food for the Soul… - Have the dream; then build a plan, and make it a reality.
- Don't let setbacks get in the way of your dreams.
- We can should never forget the importance of keeping your mind and soul fresh.
Self-assessment exercise - your readiness to NOT waste your next vacation. As a kid my dreams were big and grand, not much has changed. I still stop and take a minute to say WOW! Can you say this about your dreams and accomplishments? - Our team gets the necessary time to keep their minds fresh and we have plans to live our dreams. (Comment on how you're ready.)
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- We can do better, modify our strategy, and now we are moving in the right direction. (What are the next steps to insure success?)
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- This is a new idea and strategy, it's something we need to work toward. (Brainstorm the first steps.)
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- Don't think this applies to your business or enterprise? (Write three to four reasons why it might not.)
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FYI, Entropy Buster® recently cleared all hurtles and is now an official US Trademark! Art Koch's Profit Chain™ Dramatic improvements to inventory velocity, increased customer service and corporate profits"
Entropy Busters® Stop letting the process manage you! Become the champion of your game plan and achieve sustainable profits.
Inventory Is Evil!™ in·?ven·?to·?ry / 'in-v?n-?t?r-e / noun Inventory is the term for the goods available for sale and raw materials used to produce goods available for sale.
in·?ven·?to·?ry is evil! / 'in-v?n-?t?r-e is 'e-v?l / phrase Left unchecked inventory has many negative unintended consequences to profitability.
It hides problems; therefore, it delays fixing problems!
| | | | | Art Koch's Profit Chain™
Turn Operational Problems into Profits | | | Thanks in advance for your time. As always, thanks for being a loyal client. Looking forward to helping you and your team again soon.
Carpe diem,
Art Koch
Arthur Koch Management Consulting, LLC
info@arthurkochmgt.com
+1 (336) 260-9441
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