I never could imagine I could do this!!!
I knew I had a clogged pipe in my house when water started to flow out onto my floor every time I ran the dryer to clean clothes!!! I was going to get a plumber and asked Tom for a referral until he said that I didn’t need one and that it was pretty easy to fix. So Tom came over and helped me out… and also taught me a good business lesson as well.
I don’t know a THING about plumbing and pipes but Tom was nice enough to show how everything works. He had the “snake” and we basically went through different “drains” until we finally fixed the problem. Unfortunately there was no easy way and we had to “get down and dirty” and crawl under the house.
And fortunately… we fixed it! (or Tom fixed it)
… and I learned something new…
So why is this blog post here… Why am I writing about clogged pipes? And I planning to be a plumber?!
No!
And never!
I’m writing this cause I learned something new from that experience…it reminded me of the importance of systems… EVERYTHING around us IS or IS PART of a system. We get running water in our homes because of a very clever designed “system”. I have no idea who invented pipes and suction but you can say he helped changed the world!
You may think a pipes system must be super complicated… yet, what I learned from this experience was that it is actually very simple. Yet something so simple can deliver something so important so effortlessly. (until a clog comes)… and that reminds me of my business and our businesses. The MOST successful businesses are efficient because they have the MOST SIMPLE system. SIMPLE yet effective!
As a business grows, often what follows is red tape and bureaucracy as more things are added. The system gets more complicated and then things slows things down and ultimately the flow of money slows as well.
This whole pipe cleaning experience taught me the importance of simplicity… a simple business system is often best because the business becomes more efficient and also easier to “fix” when problems come up. It has to be so simple that anyone can learn and run it and fix it.
Just ask Tom… after just 1 day, even I could learn how plumbing works and how to fix a clog the next time it happens!
Until next time,
Simon Chan
postcard dimensions says
I just found your website via Digg, nice read, going to bed now because it is very late but will check you out much more in the morning.