Wake Up Call

31st January 2013

How many times have I told people not to stick their heads in the sand, and face up to an issue that is brewing? The answer is, I have lost count, and yet despite knowing that dealing with situations before they escalate is always the best path, I have recently seen the consequences of not practicing what I preach.

Two or three months ago, we noticed a damp patch on one of our walls upstairs. It wasn’t huge, and it was in a fairly unnoticeable part, so it was quite easy to ignore, and pretend it wasn’t there. After all, although we looked from time to time, it wasn’t getting any worse, so perhaps if we left it, it would just go away. Last week we suddenly found water dripping through one of the light fittings in the kitchen, which prompted an immediate and extremely concerned reaction. How I wished I had dealt with the problem straight away, instead of leaving it to become a potential fire hazard, and of course untold amount of repair work on the inside walls (my imagination ran wild, along with the pound signs flashing in front of my eyes).

The point is that whatever it is, be it in your personal life, or in your business, being an ostrich and ignoring potential issues however small they may seem initially, is never a good policy. Facing up to things, taking action and dealing with them, be they structural, to do with personnel or relationships, be they problems with quality or weaknesses in your sales or marketing systems, it is always best to acknowledge them and then come up with a solution.

If I were my coach, I would never have let me get away with not dealing with the roof. But, whilst I would love to be, none of us are perfect, and from time to time making silly mistakes can be a very useful wake up call.

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