Are you willing to start a fire to find a weakness?
A number of years ago, a friend called saying her furnace kept blowing a fuse. She was concerned because it was getting cold outside and she was afraid her family wouldn't have heat. I dropped by, checked it out and the fuse was definitely blown. I had to decide if I was willing to start a fire to find a weakness.
I took a piece of aluminum foil, wrapped the fuse and put it back in. My friend panicked because she was afraid it would burn up the furnace. The furnace started and within a few minutes, a circuit board started smoking and I shut it down. I found the problem.
The smoking circuit board had developed a problem, and the easy way to find out where the problem was - was to put it under stress. I ordered a circuit board, replaced it and off it went.
Sometimes in business, business owners rely on tools and 
techniques they've always used to help them continue on in business, and most of the time, a business can continue for a long time without a change. But, when is the last time you went to a Howard Johnson's restaurant? How about a Border's Books? What about some banks? In 2008, 25 banks felt the pressure of a changing economy and failed. That number went to 140 in 2009. In 2010, it was 157.
In a changing economy, or a time of changing technology or a time of shifting market preferences, businesses get squeezed. Much like my aluminum wrapped fuse, if you're under pressure and you start smoking, you're going to breakdown. The key to your success is to be able accept a burned up board to know where the weaknesses are so you can make changes.
If your marketing isn't producing results, stop doing it that way. If your communication isn't inspiring clients, communicate in ways that cause them to applaud your efforts. Change is hard sometimes, but effective operations are always willing to burn up a board to make things work smoothly. The best thing you can do in many cases is jettison something that isn't working, and to get there, you've to take a honest look at your operation and see the flaws. My approach was to set a board on fire, yours might be to try new things while putting a microscope on what you're doing.
Are you willing to start a fire to find a weakness?
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