Just ONE Thing
Persistence Rewired: A 5-Step System to Tune Up Your Auto Repair Shop
Episode 205
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening. My name is Rick White from 180BIZ. This is My Just ONE Thing. We are a coaching and training company for independent auto and truck repair shops. What I want to talk about today is persistence.
Now, what did I think persistence meant? For me, persistence meant don’t give up. It meant keep pushing no matter what—push, push, push. Don’t give up. Don’t let go. That was persistence to me. How many of you can say that was the same for you? Just real quick, go, “Yep.” Write in the comments, say, “Yep, that was me. That’s me, that’s me.” That’s what I think persistence is: pushing, not giving up, not letting go. Would you agree with that concept? Would you agree with that definition? Yeah, I think this is super important. If anybody else is feeling it too, I get it.
One of the things I read—I came across this quote, and it said: “Persistence without insight will lead to the same outcome.” Let me say that again: “Persistence without insight will lead to the same outcome.” And I gotta tell you, guys, gals—it hit me right here, right between the eyes. It was amazing. I was like, holy crap—that’s right! So when I started thinking about that, I was like, holy crap, that really is true. If you think about it, my definition of persistence is exactly what insanity is—doing the same thing and expecting a different result. And that just—guys, I gotta tell you—this is super, super important.
I want you to think about this: persistence without insight will lead to the same outcome. How many times have we (me included, right?) mistaken stubborn repetition and called it persistence? Think that through for a second. How many times have we been just dealing with stubborn repetition and calling it persistence?
So that’s what I really, really thought through. I thought: hold it, hold it, let’s think this through. What we need is a reflection cycle. A cycle we can repeat very simply that will help us turn persistence into progress. Write that down. My goal today is to help you turn persistence into progress. That’s what this is all about.
So I’m going to share with you something I developed over the weekend. I really love this, and I think it’s going to work really, really well. You ready? It’s a five-step cycle.
Step one: Plan. Think about this. I want you to plan. Have a plan of action, but I also want you to have a plan for expectations. In other words, you’ve got to be able to create the ruler. You need both: a plan of action and a plan of expectation so that you’ve got something to measure against.
Step two: Act. You’ve gotta take purposeful action, focused action. When you have a plan with a desired outcome, you’re more likely to be focused with your actions. That’s what we want to do. Plan, and then act.
Step three: Observe. This is what we don’t do. We don’t step back and observe—what did I do? What happened? Step back, look at it, gather some data, and go from there. Don’t judge. Don’t say things like, “I’m a piece of crap,” or “That didn’t work,” or “That really hurt.” Stop that kind of thinking. Just step back and observe.
Step four: Analyze. This is where we start to ask questions: What’s the correlation between what I did and what I got? What can I do better? What can I do differently? What should I continue doing? Analyze. Step back. Analyze the data.
Step five: Adjust. This is the magic right here. Adjust what you did before. So that it’s not stubborn repetition. It’s the ability to step back and say: “This worked well,” “This can go better,” “This I need to stop.” Then come up with a revised plan, because it’s a cycle. So what happens next? We take focused action. Then we observe again. Then analyze and adjust. And have a new plan. This is how we’re going to see progress instead of frustration.
Does this all make sense? I’m telling you, I am so excited about this because I didn’t realize I was calling stubborn repetition persistence. Look, if you’re doing something and it’s not working—over and over again—it’s probably not going to. Be elegant about this. Don’t be pig-headed. Be super focused and non-negotiable on your destination (the expected, desired end result), but super flexible on the path to get there. When you give yourself that grace, you’re now running experiments. So instead of “it’s got to be this or this,” now it’s “I want to be doing this over and over again.” Do you see what I’m saying with this? I love this.
This is what I want you to get from this. (And “guys” is a non-gender specific term—I’m from the northeast.)
So let’s review the five steps again:
1. Plan – Have a plan of action and a plan for the expected result (your measuring stick).
2. Act – Purposeful, focused action.
3. Observe – Step back, don’t judge. Just see what happened. Document it.
4. Analyze – Ask questions, dig in.
5. Adjust – Revise your plan and repeat.
This is it, right here. It works. I love you. Thank you so much. Listen, we have our Just One Thing every week—I’m glad you’re here. We also have our Shop Owners Round Table this Thursday night—please be there if you can. If you know somebody that needs help, isn’t getting coaching, or needs an outside perspective, have them join us. I think it would be awesome.
Last thing: If you want more information like this on a regular basis, where you can access it any time, we have our Pocket Business Genius webinar series. I would love for you to be in there. And I’ll tell you what—if you don’t think it’s a great thing, if it’s not a great resource for you—come talk to me and I’ll give you your money back.
I really like this. I thought it was amazing when it hit me. I hope you all have a great week this week—go make some money. Take care. Have a great week. Bye-bye.
