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| A wobbling table does nothing to enhance the meal eating experience . |
I found a level of irritation this week when I stopped to get a bite for breakfast and just happened to be seated at the wrong table. We have all been there at one time or another when you sit down and rest your arms or elbows on the table to review the menu just as the table wobbles from side to side. You try to shift the table in one direction hoping to balance the legs or you may try folding a napkin and placing it under the shortest of the four table legs. If things don’t work out then you can end up spilling your drink or spending the meal with the table shifting from side to side. With this experience, I began to question why don’t we have tables with three legs at the bottom of the center post? This would eliminate wobbling all together. I realize this wouldn’t be done due to the fact that establishments want to utilize four chairs under the table. In my case, I looked down and noticed the pads on the end of the supports were threaded and therefore, I reached down and was able to screw the pad down which eliminated the table from wobbling . This was my good deed for the day as my breakfast was going to be enjoyed as well as the next customer who occupied this table after me.
While waiting for my breakfast to arrive, I began to think on how this wobbling table mirrored many facets of business. Three important legs (also known as a tripod) /pillars of any business are safety, efficiency and customer service. All three are required to create a balanced and successful business. Having all three legs in contact with the ground offers a great deal of flexibility in regards to stability over any number of legs. Any number of legs above or below three requires either precision, balance or exact in equal lengths or you will pick up a wobble. Three legs are easy to set up and stabilize and yet still have their limits. With only three legs, there is some allowance for error on equal length without a wobble. However, if the length is extreme enough, the table will simply fall over.
If you apply this thought process to business, there is some correlation. For example, the safest way to operate a truck is for it to never move. You would surely be safe but you wouldn’t earn any revenue. When it comes to efficiency, you could drive all day at 45 mph which typically is the minimum speed limit and be super fuel efficient. Tires, brakes and equipment would last a very long time if you drove in this manner. If you operated this efficiently, you would most likely irritate everyone who came into contact with your business. Finally, if you did everything your customer asked of you, without a cost associated with the tasks, your business would have time hard time surviving. As my breakfast arrives , my closing are thoughts are having all aspects of you business evenly applied makes for a solid platform for your operation to thrive.