The High Cost of Losing Focus in Your Business

In this week’s quarterly meeting, our EOS Implementer faithfully did his duty by walking through our V/TO with us. He read our niche aloud, “Manufacture transportation related metal poles” (the poles used to hang lights and traffic signals on roads and highways). He then asked, “Is there ANYTHING you’re doing outside that niche?”

We shook our heads emphatically until one member of the leadership team, sheepishly said, “What about those basketball poles?”

Well, sure, we make a few basketball poles for some playgrounds, but it’s still basically a pole, right?  What can it hurt?

The person who brought it up reminded us of the service call we recently received because a homeowner needed a replacement backboard. Of course, we don’t carry those anymore, and the company that made them is no longer in business, leading to extensive research into how to find a suitable replacement.

All told, we had well over 10 hours of time dedicated to solving a problem generated by a product line that represents 1/20th of 1% of our sales. Those are 10 hours that we’ll never get back…10 hours that we didn’t dedicate to accomplishing our Core Target.  This small example illustrated the impact of not staying disciplined and focused on our niche.

Perhaps it goes without saying that our sales leader wrote a rock to discontinue the sales of basketball poles.

Rob Tracy, Chief Operating Officer (Integrator)
Millerbernd
Winsted, MN