New Muscles

I took my new muscles for a spin this morning, and here’s what I learned about business.I’ve been spinning for a few years and really enjoy it. It’s a great cardio workout, and it creates time for me to “not think.” But a few months ago I stopped spinning and started circuit training. I realized that while I had really good cardio fitness, my strength had dramatically fallen off and spinning with proper form was actually getting harder to do, even though I was doing more of it.

So this morning, after 90 days of circuit training, I got back on the bike.

Wow. I surprised even myself. Drastically improved performance. Everything was easier!

What does this mean to you and your business?

Stop trying to maximize the performance in one area.

If supporting areas aren’t functioning well, it doesn’t matter how many resources you pour into the one weak area.

Here’s an example:

Many organizations struggle with the timing of onboarding new customers, and those delays, of course, also delay recognizing revenue. So great efforts are made within the onboarding function to make things faster. Some improvement is seen, but if the onboarding function is working at a acceptable level, the real game changer is not there. It is often prior to onboarding, in a related area. It could be in the sale itself, in the setting of expectations, in the customer’s prioritization and/or in the customer preparation. Put attention and resources there.

Don’t try to maximize one part of the system without looking at the whole. Optimization of the system will create the results you need.

data-animation-override>
Karen Walker

Share this article on...