By Bill Schwab
What was the biggest mistake I ever made in business? Since there isn't enough space in this entire issue of PRO, I need to decide which mistake we should discuss.
Should I tell you about the time an employee did something very stupid in one of our trucks that was almost the demise of our company? Better yet, maybe I should talk about how a very wealthy client cheated our company out of a lot of money after he promised to pay when a certain amount of work was complete? (Maybe it was because he was a lawyer...)
There was the time...well several times... that we did work on handshakes (no signed contracts), or let customers change orders without putting it in writing. I don't even want to mention the times we didn't charge for the changes. Maybe our biggest mistake was continuing to employ a supervisor who had a special talent for alienating and demoralizing employees. That was a tough lesson when 75% of our work force walked off the job during the spring rush.
Vroom vroom
How about the time I bought a new piece of equipment that we didn't really need, and it broke down nine times in 300 hours of usage? That brings up a good point: Those testosterone-bearing years. I lived on a steady diet of vitamins and raw horsepower to survive in my younger days. What I'm talking about here was that spontaneous urge that every self-respecting male has to own every ground-shaking overpowered piece of equipment that has ever been made.
Forget the cost (or whether we really need it right now), it's neat, so why not own it? They are making a bigger one next year, Grrrreat! I'll get it. The reason you need it is that it is a symbol of your accomplishments and you will impress everyone while they view it sitting on your trailer.
Perhaps the biggest mistake was not being able to realize when we had no money. I could never seem to figure that one out; after all we had a whole book of checks left. Those employees have a lot of nerve. I gave them their jobs, now they wanted me to pay them for it! And those clients, they are always expecting something for free.
This one could be it. The biggest mistake we ever made was not checking the background fully of a bookkeeper we used. She charged way too much, and held our records hostage for five months while we scrambled to file taxes. That's it. The biggest mistakes fall into the realm of dishonest vendors and support help.
Holding up a Mirror
But the fact is, whether I wanted to believe it or not, I would learn that the biggest mistake was looking at me right in the mirror each morning. It had nothing to do with employees, clients, equipment, cash flow, gross or net income. This problem was so deeply rooted yet so obvious, it was staring me in the face every day. It was me.
I looked at life as though the cup was half empty, and any problem was out there at arms reach, rather than inside myself. I was, and still am, the big cheese, the owner, and these issues are what I bargained to take full responsibility for if they happened. And yes, most of them have.
As much as I would love to say that the thing to do is never to make a mistake again, we are all human and we will make mistakes. The real thing to do is to recognize each mistake as soon as you see it happen, learn from it, and never make that mistake again.
Sheer stubbornness will take you far in this world. It will also cause you to go through a lot of pain, effort, and heartache before you wake up and finally figure out where the core of the problems really lie.
Pointing Fingers
When I look back at my business history, it is easy to see where the problems started. During my fourth year in business, my wife died unexpectedly after childbirth. I was now alone running the business, not to mention trying to deal with the grief and raising a baby girl alone. I quickly switched to auto-pilot, avoiding help, and trying to run everything all by myself.
I struggled for six years, answering problems not by solving them, but by digging in deeper, trying to find answers in all the wrong places. I spent that time always playing catch up, when I could have used that time to grow. It took that long before I realized that I couldn't point fingers at the rest of the world. I could only point to that jerk in the mirror. It wasn't what everyone else was doing to me. It was what I was doing to the business.
It was finally a client (also a friend) who helped me understand. One day he pulled me aside and told me to stop pointing fingers. He put into words the same thoughts that had been brewing in the back of my mind for a while. I realized that it was me and my attitude holding us back. It was changing that attitude that has unleashed us.
What I Learned
Once I opened myself up to the idea that getting help was okay, there's been no looking back. I hired smart people to take care of the areas of business where I was weak, and that allowed me to focus on the areas of the business where I thrived. I learned (finally) from my mistakes.
1.I learned you cannot make accurate, informed decisions from knee-jerk reactions. Nor can you do everything well at once.
2.I learned to let professionals take care of the finances so I can focus on leading the business in the best direction.
3.I learned to make new equipment decisions based on company need, not on testosterone.
4.I learned to let other people in, and to seek advice when making decisions.
5.When I got married again last year, I learned that my wife is a true partner and can serve as a good sounding board, advisor, and at times, gatekeeper. I don't have to call all the shots myself. And you know what? A lot more decisions are calculated and correct.
6.I learned this: Just like how I take the wards and commendations that we have earned over the years, I also take full responsibility for the mistakes our company makes. That is probably the most important lesson of all.
