Set It and Forget It

Do you remember Ron Popeil?  He famously sold rotisserie cookers on an infomercial.  According to the show, this was no ordinary cooker.  It was easier.   Put the food in, set the timer and that’s it.  He had the audience repeat “set it and forget it” over and over.   Those words ring in my head.  How convenient!  Ironically, this is how most of us deal with our businesses.  We spend a ridiculous amount of time in November and December setting big goals and developing strategic plans.  Then, we file them away and never look at them again.  We “set them and forget them.”  Unfortunately, when it comes to winning, we can’t just “set it and forget it.”  Big goals are not realized that way. 

How about you?  Today is April 1.  Aside from being Easter and April fools day, it also marks the beginning of the 2nd quarter.  That means 25% of our year is behind us.  Have you achieved 25% of your goals?  It is very possible that you cannot answer that question definitively.  Why?  Because you do not know.  You effectively, “set it, and forgot it.”  Unfortunately, your 2018 goals will not be achieved that way.

You are not alone.  We all avoid evaluating performance.  Why?  Because reality interrupts your fantasy.  For example, you may be hitting your units and volume goals.  When we are, we conclude that our businesses are successful.  Unfortunately, until we also measure expenses, profit and time spent, we will not know.  Those are the metrics that identify a business worth owning.  Until we know them, we maintain our fantasy that we are awesome.

Will you plan some time this week to evaluate your 1st Quarter performance?  Please, dive deeper than units and volume.  Look also at GCI, expenses, profit and time spent.  These are the metrics and irrefutable evidence, that define a business worth owning.