Proceed with Caution

Monday Morning Match is a quick post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.

Proceed with Caution

Some of you might remember I wrote a post last summer about my daughter earning “her temps” called 11 Things Realtors Can Learn from a New Teenage Driver. Well, since last summer Riley has been working hard practicing in the classroom and on the streets behind the wheel and soon it will be time for her “in-car” driving test which stands between her and earning her official Ohio driver’s license.

Part of the test will be a maneuverability exam that requires that she steer the car between a set of cones and then, once through the obstacle, she needs to place the car in reverse and navigate her way back through the cones the same way she came. She needs to do this, if possible, without hitting a single cone. This isn’t a parallel parking test but it’s similar. This will test her ability to think through the process, stay calm and use her mirrors as well as demonstrate her ability to understand her distance between objects around her. It’s not easy and she has been practicing very hard for her one chance to “hit her mark”…or in this case, avoid hitting her mark.

Thinking Through the Process

Just like Riley will need to be prepared to go right or left in the process and then quickly re-calibrate her thought process to repeat the process in reverse, we need to be prepared for the daily challenges and obstacles that are testing us each day. Some of these are common tasks that we face each day but others pop up now and again and force us to think a few extra seconds to make sure we know which way to go.

During our practice, I would often be surprised that Riley couldn’t quickly figure out which way to rotate the wheel when in reverse but like any good teenager, she was quick to remind me that I’ve been driving for more than 30 years so it’s more instinct for me now. So while I don’t have to think that turning my steering wheel to the right while in reverse produces a leftward rotation of the front of my car, these sudden changes in direction aren’t natural to Riley. Years from now, we’ll both remember these challenging days and laugh to ourselves (hopefully) but for now, the process takes some time.

How comfortable are you with your systems in place for your daily activities? Do you have a repeatable set of steps for your business development activities? Are your listing and buyer protocols something you can do without thinking or do you still find yourself missing steps now and then or “taking it day by day” and handling what happens when it happens? When a problem arises, can you retrace your steps to identify what went wrong and correct quickly so you can get back on track?

Even more importantly, are your steps somewhere in writing so when you’re ready to hire your next team member or assistant they can easily be duplicated by everyone? Consistency is one of the critical parts of a successful routine. How easy it is to repeat a process when under pressure could be the difference between stalling under pressure or a successful closing of a real estate transaction.

Whether you’re building relationships, solving problems, having fun or just backing a car through a series of cones, being able to do it efficiently and effectively with help you pass the test with flying colors.