Just caught a radio interview of another fellow in my industry, the commercial janitorial field. What seemed to motivate him the most was the many lessons he'd learned from mentors, clients, and others over the years.
One lesson that's influenced me, both in business and life generally, was from a senior fellow at Walsh Brothers, in years past a major Phoenix institution. He suggested, metaphorically, wearing both belt and suspenders. Always be prepared, with a back up. Always have a "what if" plan.
Several weeks ago, one of my floor techs called late on a Friday evening. Fridays, we don't provide much service; most of our weekend clients are cleaned later on Sunday, So, Fridays, my operations manager is off. Not much call for him. So I cover any emergencies.
My tech, getting his work out of the way early, had to limp his van onto the side of the road, with a front wheel half disconnected and wedged into the wheel well, due to a snapped connecting rod. I ran over, and called our tow company. The first driver, in a standard flatbed tow truck, could not winch our van up onto the deck, due to the non-functioning wheel. By the time his more experienced collaborator arrived, got it loaded, and dropped it at my garage, I had a couple of hours in. Ran my tech over to our office to pickup our spare van (back up #1). Dead battery, due to age and doubtless sitting too long. Jumper cables (backup #2) did not suffice, nor did the power station (back up #3) - just too old a battery. The back up spare van (back up #4) which I keep at my home, just down the street from the office, started just fine. Good thing, too. Back up #5 is my personal pickup. We have no back up #6. It's hard to carry a floor buffer on a city bus.
In this world, one needs belt, suspenders, and then some.
