MISTAKE #35: You’re not working with the best tools
My grandpa was a homebuilder his entire life. He would buy a residential lot, build a house, sell it, and buy another lot.
Build. Sell. Repeat.
He did this for over 40 years.
And when I became a first-time homeowner in 1999, he shared some great advice that I have applied throughout my life:
“Buy the best tools you can afford, Tom. They will work better and last a lot longer than cheap tools.”
Over the years, I’ve acquired a workshop full of almost any tool I could need to do any project around my house. It has taken me a long time to afford all of them, but I’ve got no regrets about the money I've spent on what I now own.
I’ve also learned how having the right tool for the job can transform the task.
For example, I once broke a $25 Crescent wrench, chipped the porcelain finish, and spent half an hour attempting to remove a tub drain in a house I was rehabbing.
I eventually gave up and bought a $9 drain removal wrench designed solely for that purpose.
And, guess what? I had the drain removed in 30 seconds.
THE JACK(KNIFE) OF ALL TRADES
The Swiss Army Knife is the perfect metaphor here.
If I was stuck on a desert island, a Swiss Army Knife might be the most valuable tool I could have with me. But in my regular world, my Swiss Army Knife is rarely used as it sits in the back of a drawer.
While a Swiss Army Knife is capable of doing a lot of different things, it is almost never the best tool for any one of those things. I can find a better knife or saw or wrench or screwdriver or file for each of those particular tasks.
The Swiss Army Knife is the proverbial "jack of all trades, but master of none."
THE BROADER PRINCIPLE
I’ve also learned that this principle applies to more than saws and sanders. It has also proven to be very true for business.
Purchases I used to view as an expense to be minimized are now viewed as an investment with a potential ROI.
I stopped approaching computer purchases looking for a cheap PC and started buying Macs.
I stopped trying to delay updating my Microsoft Office as long as possible, realizing the advantage of learning to use just a few new features.
I learned to enjoy creating better and better analysis tools versus just going with the first messy way I could figure out to get a project done.
I’ve learned to better evaluate the opportunity cost of the extra time I put into things just to save a little extra money paying others to do it.
There are still plenty of office expenses I try to minimize, but I now approach most decisions thinking about how a wiser purchase can provide longer-term value and shift an expense with no longer-term value into an investment.
WHAT DOES YOUR TOOL KIT LOOK LIKE?
I understand the many financial and time constraints companies face. I understand how important it is to just get the job done. It is unlikely that you’ve got the funds to buy the best of everything your business needs right now.
But I encourage you to consider the consequences you are potentially experiencing every time you try to avoid buying the right tool for the job.
Is your business struggling because your toolkit is so limited? Are you trying to use the tools that happen to be available for things they’re not designed for? Are limited or outdated skills producing DIY-looking results you’re not satisfied with?
While you can’t reinvent your toolkit overnight, consider what are the biggest gaps or which ones are most in need of a new and improved version. Consider how you can improve results by improving the tools used to get them.
And consider if it might be best to bring in a specialized subcontractor to take on a project that is beyond your current skill set or one you’re just never going to get to.