In Their Shoes
A good way to take a reality check on how your business is really doing is to take a position on the front lines as a regular worker. This is effective at any level of the business, from laborer or crew leader for field work, to counterperson, driver, or department manager for businesses like Landscape Warehouse. I have the opportunity to do exactly that as I write this because our Office Manager has taken an unexpected trip, and it is now up to me to fill in for a few days. Time to step into her shoes, so to speak.
Most people don’t start at the top of an organization, whether it is the four-star general of an army, or the president or general manager of a company like yours and mine. Their careers started in the trenches mastering the basic duties and responsibilities before rising in the system. I started that way working for landscaping companies and later another supplier before I stepped out on my own. You probably have a similar story.
The benefit of working up through the ranks – or for entrepreneurs having to wear many hats when you start out – is that you are in the middle of where the action is almost all the time. It is with the knowledge and experience gained from working in these various positions that you built your company. But so many things have changed from the early days of your business that filling in temporarily in different areas can show you where things have evolved so you can update your skills and make the proper adjustments.
Along the way, you may run into some memorable situations. Like the time I was filling in at the sales counter when an irate customer wanted to fight me because he had purchased outdoor lighting that did not work out for the pool area as the manufacturer claimed. He not only wanted a refund, but he also demanded fees for time lost. Not a chance, Buddy! There was another time when I was just passing through behind the counter when a customer’s friend I had never met got my attention. He then proceeded to chew me out because a former counterperson had not followed up on the referral that brought this guy to the store. I did say “former” right? Most of our customers know who I am, but a few don’t. You’d be surprised how much helpful information you can pick up from someone who does not know that you are “the boss.”
There’s actually a TV program that shows what can happen when the president or chairman of the board of a major corporation plays “Undercover Boss” in his or her company. Enlightening, to say the least.
So, don’t be afraid to dive in to fill a temporary void in an area of your company. It will help you brush up on and update the skills and procedures you used to launch your business way back when. And it may even give you the boost you need to make the transition into the new age of technology and AI you may have been avoiding.
– José Robles, owner, Landscape Warehouse