Point To The Future!

Everybody talks about the future. How we’ll do this! How we’ll do that! How someday we’ll get to that place!  It's exciting, energizing and fun.  

Everybody talks about it alright… Some people in your organization will be with you. They’ll see it, mean it and do it. And some people will say it and want to mean it but… They can’t. They may even see what the future could be but… They just can’t bring themselves to get there.

In metal finishing in particular the future is easy to envision but hard to predict. You can have a vision, you can make a plan, you can take a 5 day seminar on Strategic Planning and create “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” with mileposts and action items and budgets etc… But more so than in most businesses, metal finishing most often takes you where it wants to go.

Why? How can having a vision and a plan be so hard for metal finishers? The most obvious reason as discussed in my previous Linked In post about New Year Goal Setting For Metal Finishers, is that we don’t set the market place.

You can expand your electroless nickel capabilities and your anodizing line will boom to max capacity. You can set out to be best zinc die cast plater in the region and the long running job you built that capability around will come to an end. You’ll build an 8’ line and never get a call for large parts again. All of that said, you may also want to revisit my Murphy’s Law post as well.

The biggest obstacle for metal finishers in creating a new future though may be in our own people. And as I always caution…

Some People Point to the Future and Look at Their Finger

It’s true. Some of our best employees and key managers will be obstacles in seeing and getting to where you want the business to go. They may even seem to be on board but somehow always find the reasons why we can't. There are managers and employees that will argue that no matter what direction you go in it will be fraught with danger and it’s exhausting. You can only state your case with so many options and alternatives before you surrender (bad) or get emotional (worse!).

Is it fear of change? Is it fear of losing their position, power or authority? Is it fear of new ideas, methods and processes? Fear that the business will evolve past their capabilities or comfort zone? All of the above? Is it a lack of passion for the work?

Maybe all or none of the above or maybe something I’m missing or something you couldn’t possibly anticipate. True confession? There was the the time we finally got to expand the electroless nickel line and found that the biggest opponent of this expansion, a key operator, had built himself a nice little fort under the stairs and behind the existing line where we couldn’t see him… Nice little place to take a private break in between loads. If you’re not a metal finisher you just wouldn’t understand…

Courage!

I’m not presenting answers to this dilemma here. I’m afraid you’re on your own as you know your people best and you’re part of the planning discussions. This is merely a cautionary tale that those key people on every level of your business may be pointing towards the future but their vision is limited.

But don’t limit your vision. Keep planning. Keep dreaming. Be courageous!

Keep thinking about what might be next and what works for you and your company. There will always be obstacles and worries and there will always be plenty of people around you to point them out. They will surely be there when your vision goes up in smoke to remind you they knew that wasn’t going to work. But hang in there. my metal finishing friends. To paraphrase an old news anchor… Courage!