"Roger, wake up.
You'll be
late for work."
Slowly consciousness
dawned as
Gladys' words
penetrated Roger's
brain.
The words
"late for work"
finally registered.
"Late to
work?
Ha!
What
difference did
that make."
he thought.
Everyone was
always late to work
at Roger's company.
"Gladys", said
Roger, finally fully
awake.
"I'm not
going to work
today."
"What?
What do you
mean you're not
going to work
today?"
replied
Gladys, frowning at
Roger stubbornly
laying in the bed
with the covers
pulled up under his
chin.
"Just that, Gladys.
I'm not going
to work.
Nobody likes
to work there.
Everyone is
always grumpy, short
tempered, hollering
at each other.
Nobody will
take responsibility
for anything.
They are
always in
meaningless meetings
accomplishing
nothing.
And just
yesterday we had a
meeting to try to
understand why our
customer complaints
were through the
roof and we came
close to a
'Saturday
Night Smackdown'.
Sales blamed
Production,
Production blamed
Customer Support.
Everyone
blamed Finance
claiming invoices
were always wrong
and never on time.
No sir.
I'm
definitely not going
back to that place
and that's final.
I quit!"
Roger, you can't
quit." said Gladys,
hands on hips,
glaring at the
stubborn Roger.
"And just why not?"
As Gladys stomped
out of the room, she
shot back over her
shoulder, "Because,
Roger, it's your
business. You own
the place!"
I hope you are not a
"Roger".
As a business
owner, or CEO, you
are responsible for
the health of your
company.
In the
"health check-up"
article above, how
did you fare?
Do
you need a doctor?
That's what
consultants are -
doctors, not of
medicine but of
business.
And just as
you would no more
ignore symptoms of
ill-health in
yourself - nor try
to treat yourself -
neither should you
do so for your
business.
So what can a
'business doctor' do
for you?
First, a good
consultant can
tailor best
practices solution
processes
specifically to your
business.
Just like a
doctor, who knows
how your problems
have been treated in
other people, a
consultant knows how
your business
problems have been
solved by others.
There are few
things new under the
sun.
Why not take
advantage of what
someone else had
already done?
The second thing a
good consultant
brings to bear on
your business
problems is
experience.
Most of us
are more comfortable
with doctors who
have been around a
while.
It's the same
with a consultant.
One who has
been around a while
can bring to bear on
your problems the
strength of
experience.
If nothing
else, an experienced
consultant will view
your problems with
eyes unclouded with
your emotion.
But maybe the most
important advantage
experience brings is
the ability to see
things you might not
see.
It's one
thing to be 'sick'
and know it.
It's another
thing to have
problems of which
you are unaware.
There may be
symptoms you don't
recognize that
evidence something
serious.
And few
problems heal
themselves.
It's all up to you.
Just as it's
up to us
individually to take
care of our physical
health, it's up to
you as business
owner or CEO to look
after your
business's health.
If someone
asked you if you
wanted your business
to grow, you'd
surely say yes.
But if
someone asked you if
you wanted to grow
your business, you'd
better think before
answering yes.
A yes answer
to the first
question is nothing
more than a wish.
A yes answer
to the second
question is a
commitment.
