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London Bridge is Falling Down

By Sanford | October 30, 2009

That’s the first line of a children’s song. Yet, it applies to America’s infrastructure–roads, bridges, schools, etc.–and to its businesses. Drive on state and interstate highways, and you will find them in bad need of repair. Bridges have had sections fall or have been closed because they were unsafe to use. And the Bay Bridge is closed again because the work on the emergency repair during the Labor Day weekend failed less than 60 days after the bridge reopened. Maintenance is costly, terribly unsexy to do, and disruptive to the normal workflow.

So it is with business too. Businesses are often born out of good visions based on the best know-how at the time. Time marches on. Businesses need to review how they do business, both their internal processes and procedures, and how they impact their customer base. What are the customers’ continued experience of the business. Is there a gap between the customer’s experience and your intended experience for them? All too often in good times, businesses set a course and go. In bad times, they blame the economy, government, regulations, anyone or anything outside. True there may be external factors that affect a business. However, business owners spend too much time looking outward and too little looking inward. It is time to do regular maintenance on your businesses. This means reviewing what you are doing, assessing what, if anything, has changed, make modifications, ask customers what they experience. Knowledge is power; denial can mean disaster. Buggy whip manufacturers failed to see they were part of a transportation industry that was changing. The world waits for no business or industry. Get on board, and make the ride a successful journey.

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