It’s one of those sounds most homeowners don’t want to hear. Especially when it happens in the middle of the night or early in the morning before you’re fully awake.
No, I’m not talking about your dog getting ready to puke. I’m talking about your sump pump going off. Repeatedly.
We haven’t had rain here in Central Ohio in more than 10 days, so when we heard our sump pumps (yes, we have two) going off, we had to investigate.
No water in the basement was a great sign. Seeing steady water flowing at the curb where the drain lines evacuate the water meant the pumps were doing their job.
But the fact that the pits kept immediately filling back up and reactivating the pumps meant there was water coming from somewhere.
Finding the source was the issue.
After some troubleshooting with Brewster, my ChatGPT sidekick, we checked the main water line in the house, the valves in the sump lines, and the perimeter of the house. After eliminating several potential issues, I called the City of Columbus to see if they could send someone out to check for a possible water main leak in our neighborhood.
As you might expect, the customer service line at a government department on a Sunday wasn’t much help. Just an offer to turn off our water or call back Monday at 7 a.m. to request a free inspection.
I’ll be dialing at 6:59:59 a.m. and hoping for a quick and courteous response.
All these unexpected issues got me thinking about how we react when the proverbial sump pump starts running in our businesses.
Do we immediately try to turn off the water, even if that’s not the problem? Do we panic and assume the worst? Or do we take the time to investigate, eliminate possibilities, and identify the real source of the issue?
Sometimes the things working the hardest aren’t the things causing the problem.
My sump pumps are doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. It’s everything happening around them that needs attention.
The same might be true in our businesses.
There’s a business planning exercise called a SWOT Analysis. It encourages us to identify our Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
What are we doing well? What’s holding us back? Where are the opportunities? And what potential problems might be lurking beneath the surface?
As we approach the season of business planning for the new year, perhaps it’s time to look a little closer at what’s happening in our businesses.
Before we start working harder, maybe we should figure out what’s making us work so hard in the first place.
Find the source. Fix what you can. Ask for help when you need it.
And remember, when the sump pump isn’t running all night (and the dog isn’t puking), everybody sleeps a little better.
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