- Why set limits?
This is my first weekend not working since December. To clarify further, this is my first day not working since December. But that’s not what this post is about: I’m a machine, so days off are spent finding other things to add to my plate.
So instead, let’s talk about you!
I’m pissed off. And while I just said I wanted to talk about you, I really want to bitch about the 10 cup coffee maker in the condo on the Oregon coast I woke up in this morning. Right on the ocean, I sit here staring not at the waves crashing just below me, but instead at the piece of crap 10 cup coffee maker on the counter.
I make a full pot of coffee- for me it’s 12 cups or nothing! How the hell can I turn this frown upside-down? Easy… I go back to work.
In the coffee pot selections of life there are a plethora of choices; from the single serving Keurig and Krups, to the 12 cup Black and Decker.
This got me thinking: why would anyone choose to be a 10 cup maker when you could be a 12?
Part of succeeding in business is being a big enough threat to the other guys out there. You don’t necessarily have to be Starbucks, but you can be Seattle’s Best! If you aren’t setting your business bar high enough you’re doomed to be mediocre for all eternity.
That sounded melodramatic.
How about I phrase it this way… in business you need to set your sights high enough, constantly challenging yourself to be better. Choosing to be the 10 cup maker in a world of 12 cuppers is just silly. While you may not ever be the best in your field of choice, you damned well better have those aspirations!
And for all of you out there worrying that I spent my morning in misery, don’t fret! There was plenty of room in that damned carafe for 12 cups… and getting 12 cups out of a 10 cupper is what we call creative use of resources. Write that down.
Now… time to focus on the water.
** Side note. In case you don’t get the Starbucks vs. Seattle’s Best reference; Seattle’s Best was a coffee and ice cream shop run by two brothers with roots back to 1970. By 1997 they were tired of fighting the corporate dollars of Starbucks and sold to a group of investors. This new group took stock of what they had and fashioned a new business plan: be a big enough threat to Starbucks that they have no choice but to buy us out. In July of 2003 Starbucks bought out Seattle’s Best for $72 million dollars. Cha-ching!
Yeah.. Turn it up to 11 (or 12?)!
This is a good reminder. I’d say most of us got into this profession because we were facinated by how it works and we wanted to help other people. We need to use that passion and not settle for a crappy mediocre practice.
Thanks man!
Yup yup! I can see no real reason to be mediocre at anything, much less your business.
Thanks for the comment, Doug!
Interesting analogy. We spent the weekend at a hotel that provided not a 10-cup coffee maker or a 12-cupper but rather a 1-cup espresso maker. Perhaps they were going for the boutique market? Aside from the fact that it took me no less than 20 minutes to figure out the coffee maker (and another 10 minutes to figure out the shower), it was hands down one of the coolest places we’ve ever been. Even better – they were ALL about customer service. They totally excelled in their customer service and the product they provided, though I’m not so sure about the go-go dancers…
Sounds like a great place to vacation, Mandie.
But one cup? I shudder to think!