Larger Sails
When sailing, a sailboat needs adequate ballast to offset the wind load created by the sails - in order to prevent the boat from tipping over. Ballast is weight added to the keel of a sailboat for the purpose of making the boat more stable. If a high wind load exists (by larger or more sails), the ballast must be heavier. How does this idea relate to the Automotive Recycling Industry?
I have always been a dreamer with extreme passion and desire to improve anything I touch. I am always looking for new ideas and trying to implement changes to make things better or more profitable. However, I found that I can dream up new ideas, roll out new procedures, and change policies so fast that anyone under me gets overwhelmed, exhausted, and pushed to the limit. I have found that I need someone for me to ‘bounce’ my ideas off of - someone that will tell me the truth. Sometimes ideas are great, they just need to be implemented at a later date.
Several years ago, I empowered one of my managers to call me out on issues that he saw in me. I know it seems strange, but I asked him to pull me to the side and let me know when he thinks I’m pushing too hard, demanding too much, or not seeing the full picture. I empowered him to be a heavier ‘ballast’ because my sails were putting an extreme ‘wind load’ on the organization. It worked. He began to slowly push back on a few of my ‘crazy’ ideas and would allow my more basic ideas to be implemented without question. I began to see how the two of us worked very well together. We were a team that had discussions about changes and reached a better solution than what my initial idea was. Things got better and better. As I became more confident in his position as a ‘ballast’, I began to dream bigger and add more ‘sails to the mast’. It worked, the heavier ballast and larger sails allowed the business to grow at a rapid pace. Because I knew that he wouldn’t let any crazy idea pass, I began to dream much bigger. The business grew from 35 employees to 70 employees in a couple of years.
Do you have someone that you can empower to be your ‘ballast’? Are you looking to add more sails or increase the size of your sails? If not, why not? You should be the dreamer, the pusher, the one with the ideas to improve your organization.
Chad Counselman
Chad@WiseCounselGroup.com
I have always been a dreamer with extreme passion and desire to improve anything I touch. I am always looking for new ideas and trying to implement changes to make things better or more profitable. However, I found that I can dream up new ideas, roll out new procedures, and change policies so fast that anyone under me gets overwhelmed, exhausted, and pushed to the limit. I have found that I need someone for me to ‘bounce’ my ideas off of - someone that will tell me the truth. Sometimes ideas are great, they just need to be implemented at a later date.
Several years ago, I empowered one of my managers to call me out on issues that he saw in me. I know it seems strange, but I asked him to pull me to the side and let me know when he thinks I’m pushing too hard, demanding too much, or not seeing the full picture. I empowered him to be a heavier ‘ballast’ because my sails were putting an extreme ‘wind load’ on the organization. It worked. He began to slowly push back on a few of my ‘crazy’ ideas and would allow my more basic ideas to be implemented without question. I began to see how the two of us worked very well together. We were a team that had discussions about changes and reached a better solution than what my initial idea was. Things got better and better. As I became more confident in his position as a ‘ballast’, I began to dream bigger and add more ‘sails to the mast’. It worked, the heavier ballast and larger sails allowed the business to grow at a rapid pace. Because I knew that he wouldn’t let any crazy idea pass, I began to dream much bigger. The business grew from 35 employees to 70 employees in a couple of years.
Do you have someone that you can empower to be your ‘ballast’? Are you looking to add more sails or increase the size of your sails? If not, why not? You should be the dreamer, the pusher, the one with the ideas to improve your organization.
Chad Counselman
Chad@WiseCounselGroup.com
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