Just ONE Thing
The Storm Is Coming - Will Your Shop Be Ready?
Episode 232
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning. My name is Rick White from 180BIZ. We're a coaching and training company for independent auto and truck repair shops. And this is my Just ONE Thing.
We're talking about STORMS, and there was a really cool Scandinavian saying that I came across that said there's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.
Think that through for just a sec. There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing. Here's the funny thing: when you think about it, when we're in business and in life, don't most of us spend our time, our energy, our effort in fighting the weather? Whether it's the economy or staffing issues, competition, stuff you can't control.
But here's the thing, here's the truth. You don't need to control the storm. You just need to be prepared for it. I love that thought process. I think that's a truth bomb. You don't need to control the storm. You just need to be prepared for it because there's gonna be some storms you can see coming and you can get out of the way.
You can zig, you can zag, but there's gonna be some that there's nothing you can do about it. There are things that you just have to do and recognize that you're gonna have to deal with it. If you can't change the conditions, how do you make sure you're ready for whatever comes?
And I'm gonna show you what this is. Here's the shift, okay? I need you to shift your focus from situational to resourceful, right? I need you to shift your focus. See, situation is what's happening to you. That's outside of your control. But resourcefulness is what you bring to the situation. It's what you can control.
I was a boy scout many years ago, and we had a couple of different things you would invariably see. You would invariably see a scout forget to pack something, and the scout would say, "Well, my mom didn't pack it," and we would say to them, "Well, your mom's not going camping, right?"
So we would tell them, "Your mom's not going camping. That's why it doesn't matter. She's home in a nice warm bed."
Here's the second thing that I learned. If I didn't pack it, I don't need it. It's just that resourcefulness. It's being able to step back and say, hey, I got this. I can do it.
So here's the reality. Great leaders don't fixate on the situation. They keep their focus on being prepared, being creative, and having systems. When you pack and it's cold out, you’ve got layers and changes of clothes, and you change your socks halfway through the day so your feet aren't sweating and then getting cold. When you're prepared, it makes all the difference in the world.
But how do you get prepared for everything, right? You really can't. So the first thing you've gotta do—this is a really simple framework.
Number one, you gotta be aware. You gotta be able to watch the weather, forecast the horizon. Instead of just being focused on what's going on today, you gotta be able to scan ahead. Pay attention to trends. Look for warning signs and potential stress points, right?
There's enough of those today. Don't get caught when you could have seen what was coming. That's the key to reacting: you're caught surprised by what was coming.
By being aware, we can then go to our second phase of this, which is recognizing. You gotta be able to admit that it could happen.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt, right? Denial is dangerous. Proactive, not reactive. Now, the reality is you're gonna have a balance on that. It's not a binary switch; it's a spectrum. What percentage of the time are you proactive versus reactive? Most shop owners that I talk to, they're 70, 80, 90 percent reactive, 10 percent maybe proactive.
What are they doing with the rest of their time? Shutting down. Because they're reacting all the time, you're exhausted. What you wanna do is start to move that up so you're being more proactive. The goal I'm gonna tell you is about 80 percent proactive and 20 percent reactive. That's in a healthy area.
But what you've gotta do is recognize that it could happen because denial is dangerous. Recognizing that something could happen doesn't make you negative. It doesn't make you a pessimist. It makes you a realist. If you think, oh my gosh, I've got the greatest team ever, we're gonna just go through life until the end of time, it's never gonna be a problem—you are in trouble. That's denial.
You gotta recognize that everybody at some point is probably going to move on. That's the way it is. So you've gotta have that recognition where you are and where you wanna go. That's just as important as being able to realize there could be a storm.
I hope that makes sense to you all. So we're saying you gotta be aware, you gotta recognize that it could happen to you, and then you gotta prepare.
That's not about fear. It's actually confidence because the more prepared you are for the different scenarios that you could go through, the more confident you're gonna be.
How do you prepare? You ask questions. They're what-if questions. What if my best tech leaves? What if I lose the internet? What if I get sick or hurt? A lot of us don't wanna deal with those questions because they paint a picture that isn't fun to go through. Instead of dealing with it, we hide. We pretend it's not there.
But every answer you have to those what-if questions makes your business more resilient and you calmer because you're gonna have that level of confidence that I've got this. That's what's really cool.
There's one other part of this, which is resilience. When you're going through the storm, you have to have resilience. Preparation helps you avoid chaos, but resilience helps you endure it. That's what I really want you to understand.
We're gonna talk about that. How much time do I have left? I don't have enough time. So guess what? Resilience is actually gonna be what we talk about next week because it's such a powerful concept.
What are we gonna do? Number one, you're gonna be aware. Number two, you're gonna recognize it could happen to you. I remember talking to my daughter, getting an apartment with a boyfriend, and saying, what if he doesn't last? What if he leaves you? Are you gonna be able to pay the rent by yourself? Because you're gonna sign a lease. You're making adult decisions.
And she—you know what she said to me? "Dad, that will never happen." And I went, okay. And guess what happened? Yeah, he was gone.
So this is the stuff. You gotta recognize it could happen, and then you gotta prepare. And those of you that really prepare have actually multiple ideas for that.
So please share this video if it resonates with you. And then the second thing I want to ask you to do: join our Shop Owners Roundtable. It's this Thursday night, 7:00 PM Eastern. We also have our Pocket Business Genius webinar series, which is decisive decision making in your business—make business decisions faster. It's this Thursday at 1:00 PM. I'm gonna break down decision making into something so simple you're gonna go, wow, how didn't I think of this?
So I hope I'll see you there, everybody.
Thank you so much. God bless. Stay safe, have fun, and go make some money. We'll see you next week. Take care.
Bye-bye.
