A Lesson in Business Learned from Hurricane Sandy

Preparation Kills Employee Incompetence 

Recently, my hometown was hit with the worst hurricane recorded in the last 100 years.  As in any nightmare situation, there are two different responses.  People either rise to the occasion and make things better or more likely, folks fold and make things worse.  A perfect example of this was the gas (or lack of gas) situation in New York and New Jersey. 

Read more on the Hurricane Sandy Gas Crisis.

Lines at gas stations on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy.

The gas situation after Hurricane Sandy was that individuals had to wait in line for hours just to be told that there was no gas left.  In my opinion, this situation was handled so poorly by everyone that it was a real embarrassment to our country, our state and our island.  However, it wasn’t all bad.  There was one example that I witnessed of a gas station that stepped up to the occasion.

The Shamrock gas station didn’t react like everyone else.  They stepped back, analyzed the situation, put in a process and made a bad situation the best it could be.  Where other gas stations had a wait of eight hours or more, The Shamrock averaged less than an hour wait by structuring the flow of approaching traffic, payments and departing traffic.

This same situation relates to our 7 Step and Business & Clinical Communication process.  Just like The Shamrock, we teach students to look at a tough situation and make it the best that it could be.  Business is especially tough in this environment as this is the toughest economy in the last 100 years.  In this nightmare situation, you have a choice – either step up and rise to the occasion or go out of business.  Now is the time to put a process in place just like the Shamrock and examine things from your customer’s point of view.  This is where the magic happens.  You build something that is totally outcome-based.

Who do you want to serve?  How do they need to be served in this environment?  Back yourself in and figure out how to get there.  When someone goes to get a medical document, are they just talking about the document and doing the same things that aren’t producing any results?  What is the difference between someone who does a task right and someone who does the task poorly?  Think about what you want to happen and what you need to happen, and then make it happen.

This week, I encourage you to take a closer look at your business.  Where is the incompetence?  Where is the lack of process?  Is it in your sales, operations, or both?  If you don’t have a process, you are letting people down and letting people down will ultimately drive you out of business.  Don’t your patients, your loved ones and your employees deserve better?

In times of crisis, the key is putting the time in to make the adjustments that make your business work.  Not sometimes, but every time.  This economy is your Hurricane Sandy.  What processes have you changed in order to get better results, to survive this storm?

Adapt, change or die.