Jan 21, 2024
North Vancouver,
BC
“I’m sorry, we can’t make a cappuccino for you, our machine is out of order.”
(Can’t read the full email – click here for the online version.)
We’ve made it to the Pacific coast and escaped the sub-zero temperatures of Canada’s hinterland. Appropriately, as soon as we reached the mighty Fraser River near Hope then we encountered rain.
Welcome to winter on the coast of British Columbia.
Today, however, I want to recount an incident from
the beginning of this winter trip. It happened in the ski resort of Fernie, BC.
Fernie was a coal town, established in the late 19th century. To this day, just to the north, Teck Resources operates one of the world’s largest coal mines, hauling some 21.5 million tons per year.
But over the past few decades, its skiers and mountain
enthusiasts who have been mining the natural abundance in the area. And as a result, there is now a plethora of condos and hotels that surround the base of the local ski area.
We had a sumptuous breakfast at the premium property one morning, while there. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when the waitress told me they couldn’t provide me with a cappuccino or espresso. Their machine was broken, apparently. It happened during the holidays,
and no one could come to repair it.
I naturally asked in return, for how long ago had it been, unusable.
Several weeks, was the reply.
Now, you and I know that it is indeed, a challenge to get repairmen to come and fix anything, these days. But for a hotel of this caliber to let an incident like this go
on for weeks is inexcusable. More likely, the staff responsible did not call and if they had, did not do follow-up to ensure a repair did happen, within a short period.
I am reminded of the short story by Elbert Hubbard, “A Message to Garcia”.
Hubbard shares the incredible true story of Andrew Summers Rowan, who was given the seemingly impossible
task of delivering a message to the elusive General Calixto Garcia during the Spanish-American War. Despite the odds stacked against him, Rowan rose to the challenge and completed the mission with sheer determination and grit.
More so, the story extolls the virtue of someone taking over responsibility for an order or request and overcoming all odds to ensure the safe and efficient execution of the task.
Here’s Hubbard, in his own words:
"Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia. How "the fellow by the name of Rowan" took the letter, sealed it up in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, & in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed
a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia, are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.
"The point I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, "Where is he at?"
By the Eternal! there is a man whose form should be cast in deathless bronze and the
statue placed in every college of the land.
"It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing- "Carry a message to Garcia!"
"General Garcia is dead now, but there are other Garcias.
"No man, who has endeavored to carry out an enterprise where many hands were needed but has been well nigh appalled at times by the imbecility of the average man - the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it.
"Slip-shod assistance, foolish inattention, dowdy indifference, & half-hearted work seem the rule; and no man succeeds, unless by
hook or crook, or threat, he forces or bribes other men to assist him; or mayhap, God in His goodness performs a miracle, & sends him an Angel of Light for an assistant.
"You, reader, put this matter to a test: You are sitting now in your office, six clerks are within call.
"Summon any one and make this request: "Please look in the encyclopedia and
make a brief memorandum for me concerning the life of Correggio".
"Will the clerk quietly say, "Yes, sir," and go do the task?
On your life, he will not. He will look at you out of a fishy eye and ask one or more of the following questions:
"Who was he?
"Which
encyclopedia?
"Where is the encyclopedia?
"Was I hired for that?
"Don’t you mean Bismarck?
"What’s the matter with Charlie doing it?
"Is he dead?
"Is there any hurry?
"Shan’t I bring you the book and let you look it up yourself?
"What do you want to know for?
"And I will lay you ten to one that after you have answered the questions, and explained how to find the information, and why you want it, the clerk will go off and get one of the other clerks to help him try to find Garcia- and then come back and tell you there is no such man.
"Of course, I may lose my bet, but
according to the Law of Average, I will not.
My point should be obvious. If you have employees or contracted out some work – make sure you adhere to the Ronald Reagan dictum of “Trust but Verify”.
Better yet, do everything you can to ensure that you hire folks for whom you do not need to do so much follow-up – so sure are you in the knowledge and
experience that they will do what you ask, without hesitation. Doing the tasks better, faster, and cheaper than can you yourself.
Run your company like this and you will never be short of customers or clients, and you will be able to earn the profits you deserve.
Until next week,
Stay healthy and focus on profit!
- Hugh
The “Profit Accelerator” Expert
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