Discover Why A Large Part Of My Success Has Come From This 1 Critical Element And How You Can Use It In Your Life Today

artwork of problem solving

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got in my life was from my Dad.

I wouldn’t say it necessarily made me happy, but it certainly made me successful. He taught me one critical thing: that you have to look for and anticipate problems before they actually become real problems.

For several years, back in the day, I was a builder working for my dad and his business partner. We did developments and things like that. They had a lot more experience than me, so they were teaching, and I was learning.

One time we were building a single-family home. I was there alone with the heating-duct guy who was down in the basement. I had to supervise a few other things in a few other houses, so I left the heating-duct guy there thinking I’d return later.

When I came back to that house, though, my dad was in the basement. He was like, “Harv, get down here!” As soon I heard that tone of voice, I knew I was in trouble.

I asked, “What?” He said, “Did you just now walk out of this house?” I said, “Yes.”

He said, “I’m about to dock you six weeks of your paycheck to fix the problem right here,” pointing to the heating duct. I asked, “What do you mean?” It looked clean, there were no gaps; it looked fine to me. He said, “Let me show you something.”

We went upstairs to the kitchen, right above where the heating duct would come out on the first floor. He said, “What’s going to be right here when this is finished?” He made me get the floor plans, measure it out, and guess what? The heat duct came up halfway underneath where the refrigerator was going to be.

The refrigerator had already been ordered, and the tile and cabinet space on both sides of where the refrigerator was going to sit had already been ordered as well. None of that could change. My heart just sunk.

My dad said, “You need to know everything.” At the time I thought, “What a prick! How am I supposed to know every single thing?”

Didn’t mean a damn thing to the heating guy who was now going to charge my dad to redo the vent to move it six inches over so it didn’t crisscross with the fridge. That money was now coming out of my pocket. I was only making about $75 a week; the fix was about $500.

My dad’s thinking was, “Why should I pay for your mistake? You were supposed to supervise this house, yes?”

A month of work went down the drain because I didn’t see six inches ahead of time.

The point I want to stress here is that this happens to people who start new businesses all the time! Especially for newbies, you’ve got to be involved in every aspect of your business from the beginning, from strategic planning to communicating that plan effectively so that everyone involved knows where your ideas are going and how to execute them.

Hell, I’ve seen experienced businesses throw money down the drain because of an incorrect date on a marketing pamphlet that hadn’t been proofread properly for an upcoming event. Imagine clients making travel and hotel arrangements to attend your seminar on the wrong dates!

Head off problems before you have to spend a fortune in time, money and energy fixing something that should never have happened in the first place.

Why do I obsess about this in my business? Life lessons aside, it’s because I want to see problems in what I do and deliver before you do. Once you see it, it’s too frickin’ late.

Are you working like that in your business? Or in any endeavor that’s important to you?

What are some potential problems that you could forecast in a project you’re currently involved in? And how could you work your way around these obstacles?

Head them off at the pass with caution, alternatives, or backup plans. If you don’t, it could literally cost you a fortune.

Tell us about your experiences and learnings about problems that you did avoid or could have been avoided. Share your stories, we want to hear from you!

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For Your Freedom,