It is intriguing, the various places we can find inspiration, even when we’re not searching for it. I was recently reading a book detailing the lessons put forth by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at 30 years of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meetings and discovered that their wealth of advice is applicable not only to investors but inspectors as well.
Buffett warned that when there is trouble afoot, everything is affected and problems can easily compound. Thus, we must be sure to thoroughly think through our actions (and reactions.) He asserted that the notion that we should be required to beat everyone else is nonsense. The key lies not in being first but in knowing what to avoid and steering clear of potential problems. Munger asserted that success is built on criticism, and we should be wise enough to accept such a gift.
Small issues can quickly snowball, exacerbating an already contentious situation. Better to realize this ahead of time and squash small problems before they’re allowed to take on a life of their own. Swallowing a small bit of our pride beats paying for legal representation any day of the week.
The notion that we must be the best home inspector out there is nonsense. We don’t have to surpass everyone else to run a successful business. While being very good at what we do is always a plus, there’s something even more important when it comes to keeping the doors open.
The key to our success lies in how well we avoid those things that we need to avoid at all costs. Figure out the mistakes that will cost us our business, and develop techniques to make sure that we stay far away those things. It’s sounds overly simple, but if we’re able to avoid the major pitfalls that swallow up other businesses, our career (and life) will go much more smoothly.
We should also make sure that we’re not above hearing some constructive criticism. I’m not talking about listening to trolls, but making it our job to seek out, and learn from, people who have something important to say.
When customers tell us about problems that they’ve had with our process, we should be paying attention. If one client says that our online scheduler was difficult to use, we should take it under advisement. But, if this issue becomes a constant refrain, we should take action to remedy the situation.
Knowing what to avoid is equally as important as knowing what to do. Lots of things can take down a business, and educating ourselves about potential pitfalls is a responsibility that falls solely on the shoulders of a business owner.
There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes; it’s how we learn and grow. But it is far better for us to avoid mistakes than to try to recover from them once made.
And what better way to do so than to learn from others who have already been through the recovery process.
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Thanks, Joe
