www.pyebarker.com
1-800-282-9784
P.O. Box 1387 (30298) 121 Royal Drive Forest Park, GA 30297
JANUARY 2020
SHRINKING WAISTLINES AND GROWING BUSINESSES
THE REAL CHALLENGE OF GOAL SETTING
up causing problems for employees. We’re the ones who get to be excited about weight loss, but we’re not necessarily the ones noticing the sudden lack of doughnuts. In my experience, it’s best to always make sure everyone’s eye is on the prize when it comes to company goals. If you’re going to ask your team to help make a major change happen, they need to know why that change will ultimately be good for them. We certainly wouldn’t be in the position we are in today if not for this approach. Years ago, when our old president left, I knew I had to rally the troops. We held a company-wide meeting with all hands on deck. We talked about where we wanted to go as a company and all the things we could accomplish together. At the time, it felt like “sounding the horns and banging the drums” — something to rally us during what was an admittedly low moment in our company’s history. Since then, the January meeting has become a staple of the Pye-Barker family. Everyone, from outside sales members to shipping and receiving clerks, comes together in one room to discuss what changes are coming and where we’re headed as a company. Because of this sort of communication, we’ve come a long way from where we were during that first January meeting. Not only have our home operations grown considerably, but I can also now announce our team is taking Pye-Barker somewhere we’ve never gone before. We’ve acquired a Florida Gardner Denver distributor and will be bringing our service to the Sunshine State for the first time! This has also given us the opportunity to build out our service team here at home, meaning we’ll be more responsive and efficient than ever before. Getting to this historic point for our company wasn’t easy, but just like any diet or other major life change, we can now look back on these steps and be proud of all the hard work we’ve done.
I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions. It just wasn’t a tradition we had in our household while I was growing up. My father was definitely one of those “Why wait for January?” kind of guys, so I never ascribed much to the practice. Of course, since stepping into the president’s position at Pye-Barker, I’ve had to learn the finer points of goal setting — no matter what time of year it is. Regardless of whether you call something a resolution, a goal, a dream, a milestone, or something else, it’s going to be tough. Some people believe that changing the verbiage or the way we think about these long-term ambitions might somehow make them easier, but I’ve found that’s not really the case. Goals are hard to reach not because of the way we conceptualize them but because of all the small things that change around them. Look at the ever-popular diet example. You might be motivated by the idea of “new year, new you.” You might just have a long-term goal of losing weight, or maybe the change comes from a doctor’s recommendation. No matter how you frame this motivation in your mind, one thing is going to be the same: You’re going to miss doughnuts, cheeseburgers, or whatever your go-to comfort food is. The trick is to keep your eye on all the positive changes that will come about as you move forward, even if that weight loss may seem meager at first. This “eye on the prize” outlook has helped me the most in the past few years. Doing this is harder than you might think, especially considering how people have a tendency to notice the bad and overlook the good. Writing things down is one little trick I’ve found helpful. It’s a way to put plans in concise, actionable language and gives me a physical reminder to hold myself accountable. As hard as change can be for an individual, those difficulties are magnified tenfold for a business. After all, when you launch a new initiative, expand, or offer a new service, it’s not just your life that’s changing. Everyone on the team has to get used to new software, different processes, unfamiliar vendors, and more team members to collaborate with. Often, I think business owners lose sight of these inconveniences and wind up surprised when planned changes end
Here’s to a happy, healthy 2020,
-Eric Lunsford
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