Enough is Enough

There is a world renown restaurant that cooks some of the best barbecue in a state that is known for great barbecue. Day in and day out this eatery serves hundreds of folks. Many of these folks are from far away places. They drive many miles to enjoy the food and the ambiance.

This restaurant has a great and very successful business model for, doing enough, to serve their patrons without doing too much. You see, this restaurant cooks a limited amount of barbecue on a daily basis. They open the doors at the same time every day and close the doors whenever they run out of barbecue! Some days they run out just after lunch and some days it takes a bit longer. They always run out before dinner time, but they always sell-out! This business has a fantastic brand and they protect it by doing enough for their customers but they do not clamor to do too much. They know the amount of business they can do, at a very high quality level,  on a consistent basis, so they build and plan their work around that manageable target.

There is a famous saying; "Don't bite off more than you can chew."

This is as true in life as it is in business. Far too often people get wrapped up in getting more and more, to the point of diminishing return. Some businesses are especially good at doing bad by
over-promising and under-delivering. They are so focused and geared on growing their business they literally run past the business they currently have and the business they can manage well. Enough is never enough.

You have no business getting bigger at anything that you cannot presently do so well, that the time it takes to achieve a high-quality desired outcome, is reduced because of your increased level of proficiency. "Enough" really is a finite place to be in business and it is a good place provided that you are not getting stagnant. This restaurant doesn't serve some good barbecue some of the time, it serves great barbecue all of the time. Growth is desired as long as it is not at the expense of quality.

Throw Up

The phone conversation began innocently enough. The caller had attracted my attention, minimally enough to lead to a computer aided presentation. We scheduled the web-based meeting and the call came in and I noted that it was just a few minutes late. Without any small talk, the presenter started delivering and after approximately one hour, they asked me how I felt about their services. Literally the presenter talked (seemingly without taking a breath) for over an hour, rattling off opportunity after opportunity. They threw up and the contents of the ranting came rather forcefully out of the phone and filled my office. A few of the 100,000 points they made during the never ending presentation did peak my interest and encompass some things that may hold potential for our company. However they still do not realize that since they never ask. The conversation was not a conversation at all, it was a auctioneer-paced dump of information the presenter had already labeled as important to me, as if I was just like everyone else. Even if I am like everyone else, I don't want to be treated that way.

Conversations are meant to be two way streets. When having a conversation make sure to include the other person by asking their thoughts as the conversation progresses. When you ask a question, remain silent and give the person the opportunity to think and respond. Don't interrupt as challenging as it may be to hold your tongue. Your goal is to team up, not throw up.