Doug over at Service Untitled asked me if my glass was half-full.
He asked four questions:
- How full is your glass?
- What kind of glass is it?
- What’s in the glass?
- Reasons for #1, #2, & #3?
So I’m going to answer them and give the answer to #4 as I go along.
1. How full is your glass?
It is full because I just filled it up!
How full is your business’ glass?
When you think figuratively about your business and how full is that glass, you could easily apply the concept to numerous things:
- revenues
- inventory
- number of customers
- sale opportunities
- new products in your R&D pipeline
- accounts payable
- accounts receivable
- employee morale
- customer retention and loyalty
Depending on how you view your glass in these and other categories, your business outlook may be full of opportunity, or hitting a dead end. The key is that you can measure where you are currently and can identify what’s next.
2. What kind of glass is it?
A reused (yes, I washed it) plastic cup from Rudy’s BBQ. Why? Because I love Rudy’s and their cups are durable and suited to reuse.
What kind of glass is your business?
If your cup is cracked and failing, whatever it holds will soon be all over your desk. Your business is the same way. This reminds me of the Broken Windows Theory. If little things start to look bad for your customers (like an unclean store, hard to find employees, etc.), it will be perceived that there are bigger problems. Those little broken windows (or a cracked cup in our case) will drive away customers.
3. What’s in the glass?
Water with the remnants of a few ice cubes. Water is my liquid of choice to stay hydrated.
What’s in your business glass?
When you were a kid, did you ever fill up your cup at the fast food restaurant with a little bit of every soft drink? You usually got quite the flavor combination! Sometimes it was great, but other times it was awful.
We use a glass to hold something we want to continually drink from over a period of time. Your business should have its cup full of products, customers, and employees that will continually replenish and nurture your company into the future.
These four questions were started off by Terry Starbucker. To keep the meme going, I’ll pass them along to a few fellow 9rules members: Rohit, Brandon and Natalie. Is your glass half full?