Why You Need To Switch Gears – Now

By Shauna Barker

From here to there and there to here, funny things are everywhere. – Dr. Seuss

Let’s switch gears.  Oh right….we just got here.  Let’s hop on the bike. 

Get peddling.  We’re already down the street.  Look at us go! 

What got you here won’t get you there

A couple of weeks ago I attended a session where Brett Gilliland spoke to a room full of fleet professionals about the concept: What got you here won’t get you there.  In his talk, he used the analogy of a mountain bike.  Once you’re at a good speed on the bike in a certain gear, to go faster with little or the same effort you have to switch gears.  If you don’t switch gears you will be working much, much harder for just a little bit of improvement.

While pedaling harder and harder is not ideal, it’s also going to tire you out much quicker than taking a moment for adjustment. That burnout might cost you miles and hours on a bike — or years if you’re thinking about your current professional role.

This is the way we’ve always done it, and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it may apply, but are you getting anywhere?   What gear shift can you make to make a bigger impact without peddling your shoes off?

• Spending 30 minutes Sunday night preparing for the week.
• Implementing intuitive software.
• Performing regular analysis of data.
• Forming a task force.

How can these shifts impact you?  How can they impact others?

Last fall our CEO made a gear shift and hired a new role – an executive assistant, Cera.  We joke that we can refer to RTA as two different time periods, Before Cera and After Cera, because the shift in adding that role made such a huge impact.  Spoiler: it’s not really a joke. Our CEO works hard and has big audacious goals for our company.  While the biggest impact is most likely felt by Josh’s organization, prioritization, and workload balance, I can feel the impact alllllll the way down in Sales.  It’s easier to communicate without interrupting, I have a better understanding of individual responsibilities after meetings.  Meetings start and stop as planned!  And her most important job might be kicking Josh out of the office at 4 p.m. so he can spend time with his family.  Somehow the foundation of trust is strengthened knowing that our CEO has the resources he needs to take us where we are going as a company.

What shifts can you make now that will have a big impact without overwhelm?

When you have a vision of where you’re going, expect change along the way.  Get comfortable being uncomfortable and enjoy the ride!

About the Author: Shauna Barker is a Sales Representative at RTA. When she’s not representing RTA at tradeshows and giving demos of the software, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three children.