These three words have been said over and over in thousands (or maybe tens of thousands) of business books and articles for more than 25 years. They also have long been the cornerstones for almost every management system or quality initiative ever devised or implemented. Has the meaning of what these three words represent when said together been lost because of overuse — or are they being taken for granted?
As any industry evolves, competition drives the businesses within the industry to be able to do more than the competition — or they may fail. This drives the entrepreneurial spirit. For many industries, including ours, that has translated into doing it cheaper, faster and better. This has brought challenges to many.
In the past one could only be expected to do two of the three — but not all of them. But like many other industries in the past, it was discovered that they could all be achieved. Will all shops be able to make the change of focus? Absolutely not.
Today I talk with a lot of shop owners and technicians weekly, and I find many are not up to the new challenges, the new rules or even the new technology. They just hope things will stay the same long enough to just “get out” once they get ahead again, or times will change and get back to how they remember them to be during the “great times.”
How does one inspire these good-natured owners, managers and technicians to rekindle their drive and entrepreneurial spirit? Why are so many wanting to get out when so many want to get in? Today the expansion of shops by those that are excited about our industry is really staggering. You can look at almost any top 100 (or more) metropolitan cities and see expansion by many while downsizing and distress is the norm by others. Again, why?
Today many in our industry see only insurmountable problems when others see vast opportunities. Do they have a secret formula? Is Lean Manufacturing, ISO, TQM, TPS, TOC, Six Sigma or Kaizen the solution?
These systems do provide some clear direction in where to begin to improve your business, but they aren’t magic pills that can be taken to fix all our ills. Don’t get me wrong, I have implemented concepts of many of these systems with clients and believe they can provide a great deal of benefit to those that want to listen. Check out www.QasiDirect.com for additional information on how they can assist you, or drop me an e-mail.
But having worked with hundred’s of clients worldwide has allowed me to see one fatal flaw in many owner’s worlds of business practices. Business owners are normally not accountable to anyone but themselves — and they like it that way.
Each day they have the flexibility to change the rules, the deadlines and the plan. They often don’t hold themselves as accountable as they do their employees or family members. They often do not understand the power of leading by example, and do not spend the time to advance themselves to be better owners, managers or just be better prepared.
I realize there are those who do the right things for their futures, but this group is differentiating itself from the rest of the industry. Some believe the only way to accomplish this is to do it illegally or by compromising the sacred three — quality, service or value. That is not how it is done.
To succeed today requires the owners, managers and technicians to believe in providing the proper quality and service at a good value. In the realm of cheaper, faster and better it represents cheaper (value), faster (service) and better (quality). But how can any improvement be made if no one knows the information or has received the training needed to accomplish it? I challenge you to look at your training costs for the last three years. Did it reach 2 percent of your sales? How about 1 percent? I seriously doubt it did. Over the years, most shops for which I have analyzed financials do not reach 1 percent.
But it should be a reflective cost (investment) of your commitment to keep you and your staff better prepared to compete in today’s business climate and in the future. Technical training is as critical for your technicians as management, financial and even sales training is to you, your managers and office staff. Many of these key areas are often overlooked, and the staff, as well as you, competes daily with the same knowledge and skills they have had for 20 years.
However, when a new vehicle design or system requires a new tool, you or your technician purchases the tool to be able to perform the work necessary. But when it comes to education, it is simply considered an expense that often is deemed unnecessary in both time and cost.
To grow within this industry today you must be able to compete in a professional manner and provide consistent quality, service and value. To provide that requires constant improvement and the desire to be better tomorrow than you are today.
Constant improvement requires changing the way you are currently thinking and doing it. Without changing input, output will not change for the better. Without seeking the needed information or training, you won’t be able to change input. Without holding yourself accountable, you will never be able to improve.
The concept of quality, service and value is a constantly moving target…but it can be an exciting game to play if you desire to continue.
Please send your comments, questions and potential discussion topics you would like to see addressed in future columns to [email protected]. For additional information you can also visit www.aeii.net.
