This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Supply House Times logo Supply House Times
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Supply House Times logo Supply House Times
  • Home
  • Magazine
    • Issues
    • Digital Editions
    • Archives
    • Ad Index
    • B.I.G Book
    • Rep Locator
  • Market Sectors
    • Plumbing
    • Bath & Kitchen
    • Industrial PVF
    • Radiant/Hydronics
    • HVAC
    • Fire Protection
    • Solar Thermal/Geothermal
    • Technology
    • Codes
    • Company News
    • ASA News
    • Women in Industry
  • Columnists
    • Mike Miazga: From the Editor
    • Dan Holohan: Heating Help
    • Hank Darlington: Showrooms
    • Jim Wheeler: HVAC
    • Bruce Merrifield: Distribution
    • Dirk Beveridge: Innovation Strategies
    • Michael Mercer: The Dr.’s Office
    • Letter from ASA President
    • Safety Columnists
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Gallery
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
    • YouTube Channel
    • eBook
  • Special Editions
    • Premier 150
    • PVF Outlook
    • PB Outlook
    • Radiant Comfort Guide
    • Radiant & Hydronics Report
    • Green Plumbing & Heating
  • Products
  • More
    • Industry Calendar
    • Classified Ads
    • Industry Links
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • Market Research
    • eNewsletters
    • Showrooms
    • Supply House Times Store
  • Bath & Kitchen Pro
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Home » Break the Gravitational Pull To The Status Quo
ASA News

Break the Gravitational Pull To The Status Quo

And just like planet earth, your business has a gravitational pull.

unleash slide 1
May 13, 2014
Dirk Beveridge
KEYWORDS American Supply Association / distributors
Reprints
No Comments

Gravity is a powerful, yet can’t be seen force that pulls objects to earth. For a spaceship to break free of earth’s gravitational pull, scientists must work through the cycle of speed, fuel and weight that will allow for the needed thrust to break the barrier of earth’s atmosphere. 

And just like planet earth, your business has a gravitational pull. There is a powerful, perpetual, always present, yet can’t be seen force that pulls the business back to the status quo. Many distributors don’t change. They continue to use identical business models of a decade ago despite the transformational changes around us. These distributors are faced with lack of differentiation, margin erosion and becoming irrelevant due to this gravitational pull to the status quo.

And what is the force behind this gravitational pull within our businesses? In most cases it is the weight of the past, which includes limited resources, limited vision and comfortable lifestyles of ownership, just to name a few. Gaining the speed and momentum to break free of this gravitational pull to the status quo within your business can seem equally as challenging as getting the shuttle into space. We too, must work through a cycle of speed, fuel and weight to make it happen. Here are three ways to achieve escape velocity and break this gravitational pull to the status quo:

Rediscover Your Why -The fuel and energy you have available to generate enough thrust to drive change will be directly related to your “Why.”  At one point you thought big. You had a significant meaning for your businesses. Without significant meaning, we tire and begin to accept the status quo.  One distributor owner recently told me, “We have to dream the dream again.”

Create a Crisis -“Many distributors don’t change,” one distributor CEO told me, “unless someone says, ‘We have to close a few branches.’” Crises create urgency and a need for speed. To break from the gravitational pull of the status quo, you can create your own crises. In Walter Issacson’s book, Steve Jobs, he described how Jobs could create a crisis:

“One day Jobs came into the cubicle of Larry Kenyon, an engineer who was working on the Macintosh operating system, and complained that it was taking too long to boot up.Kenyon started to explain, but Jobs cut him off.“If it could save a person’s life, would you find a way to shave 10 seconds off the boot time?” he asked. Kenyon allowed that he probably could Jobs went to a whiteboard and showed that if there were five million people using the Mac, and it took 10 seconds extra to turn it on every day, that added up to 300 million or so hours per year that people would save, which was the equivalent of at least 100 lifetimes saved per year.“Larry was suitably impressed, and a few weeks later he came back and it booted up 28 seconds faster.”

Help Others Become Uncomfortable -Yes!  Help those in your business become uncomfortable. Innovation and change takes place at the edge of where we are comfortable and uncomfortable. To escape the weight of the past you can change things up. Rewrite job descriptions. Bring in a new employee with fresh ideas and insert them into the middle of the department. Bring new technology into the business. Do anything that helps your people go to the edge of where they are comfortable.

So how strong is the gravitational pull to the status quo in your business? It’s time you boldly led your team to the edge of what’s familiar — to those unexploited capabilities that await you.

 


HELPFUL LINKS:

  • American Supply Association (ASA)
  • More ASA News
  • Follow Supply House Times on Twitter!
  • Find Supply House Times on Facebook!
  • Join Supply House Times on LinkedIn! 

sht-subscribe

Recent Articles by Dirk Beveridge

6 ideas you missed at Unleash Innovation Summit 2019

Dirk Beveridge: New business models drive change and innovation

Dirk Beveridge: 9 strategic planning lessons

Dirk Beveridge: Culture drives change and innovation

Dirk Beveridge: Vision drives change and innovation

Beveridge

Longtime consultant and well-respected speaker Dirk Beveridge is leading the movement of change, innovation and transformation throughout distribution. His new book “INNVOVATE! How Successful Distributors Lead Change In Disruptive Times” is now available at www.dirkbeveridge.com. Contact Dirk at dirk@unleashwd.com.

Related Articles

Status quo is the enemy: Creativity is your friend

Use this 10% to work on the business rather than in the business

Emerging leaders attack the status quo

Break the sameness trap

Related Products

Classic Hydronics - How To Get The Most From Those Older Hot-Water Heating Systems

The Lost Art of Steam Heating Revisited

Related Directories

The Gould Co.

The Pointer Agency

The Lovell Co.

The Chicago Faucet Co.

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

First Supply acquires lighting store

Ferguson Ventures invests in Whisker Labs and Ting technology

dodge outlook 2020 report

Construction starts to slip back in 2020

First Supply acquires lighting store

NIBCO completes acquisition of Milwaukee Valve

Midland Industries

Forward-thinking Midland Industries takes partnering with its customers to an entirely new level

Wilo acquires US pump manufacturer American-Marsh Pumps photo 1

Wilo acquires US pump manufacturer American-Marsh Pumps

SHTPremier150-360


sht-young-execs-360

Events

June 5, 2019

Do You Know Everything You Need to Know About North American Drinking Water Laws?

On Demand Protecting drinking water is of paramount importance.  The last decade has seen the enactment of safe drinking water laws that safeguard our water for consumption.  These laws can lead to confusion in determining which applications are regulated and which materials are safe to be installed in these applications. 

January 22, 2020

Reduce System Downtime with Differential Pressure Measurement

Pressure gauges reduce operator headaches by providing information necessary to keep a process operational.  Installing gauges on either side of an orifice allows operators to identify unexpected increases or decreases in pressure and schedule maintenance with minimal system disruption.  Now, one differential gauge can replace the need to install pressure gauges on either side of an orifice, simplifying pressure measurement.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Valve Handbook, 3rd Edition

Valve Handbook, 3rd Edition

Revised to include details on the latest technologies, Valve Handbook, Third Edition, discusses design, performance, selection, operation, and application. This updated resource features a new chapter on the green technology currently employed by the valve industry, as well as an overview of the major environmental global standards that process plants are expected to meet.

See More Products

SHT-Meet20Women-360

Supply House Times

Supply House Times December 2019 Cover

2019 December

Check out the December issue of Supply House Times featuring our 2019 PVF Ring of Honor Inductee, Midland Industries. Other features include the 2020 B.I.G. Book, the newest PHCP-PVF products, and much more.

View More Create Account
  • Additional Links
    • Ad Index
    • List Rental
    • Order Reprints
    • Web Exclusives
    • Supply House Times Store
    • Bath & Kitchen Pro
    • Contact Us
    • eNewsletters
    • Privacy Policy
  • Want More?
    • Connect
    • Industry Links
    • Survey And Sample
  • Plumbing Group
    • Plumbing & Mechanical
    • PM Engineer

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing