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Being
on a sailboat, close hauled, with a strong and steady
breeze is one of my favorite sensations. The boat splashes through the waves at
a fast clip, nature is delicately in harness, and life is good. If I have had
past lives and you asked me to guess what I did in them, I would answer that I
was a sailor. Hundreds
of years ago, sailing was the most efficient method of travel that man utilized.
Sailing ships were the backbone of commerce all over the world. Appropriately,
sailing has provided many sayings that flavor our language. For example, "by
the way", "windfall" and "the bitter end" are expressions
that are the contribution of sailors. When a storm or accident at sea damaged
a boat's mast and rigging, sailors were forced to improvise
the repair with any material they had on hand in order to get home. The term jury-rigging
was first used to describe the creative repair process.
Lately, I've noticed that folks on terra firma use jury
rigging methods on a regular basis, even if the right repair is readily available.
I've done my fair share of jury-rigging for quick problem
solving and enjoy the creative challenge. Give me locking pliers, duct tape and
baling wire and I will find a way to fix anything. The problem with jury-rigging
is that we often forget that it's only a temporary solution.
When the ship got back to port, the vessel's owners made a permanent repair. They
knew the foolishness of sending a ship back out to sea with less than perfect
set of sails and rigging. A
contractor friend was recently discussing his frustration with his customer who
had asked for an expert opinion on how to solve a construction problem. From years
of experience, the repair method was obvious to the contractor and he told the
customer how the repair should be made. Ignoring my friend's years of experience,
the customer proposed his own solution of jury-rigging with the false logic that
it would save him money. My friend knew that the repair would eventually fail
and his customer would spend even more money to do it the right way. Put
these next two sentences in the " I wish someone had told me this long ago
column". Successful, experienced professionals are in business because they
have already tried all of the shortcuts and jury-rigging. They know what they
are talking about and are genuinely working for your best interest. All of us
are interested in saving money, but one of the best ways to save money is to make
permanent repairs. Many
people live jury-rigged personal and business lives with the notion that they
are saving money. They are masters at creating jury-rigged: computer systems and
software, vehicles and marketing plans. Their personal lives have jury-rigged:
relationships, organization memberships and finances. It's
a daily affair of energy sucking tolerations that saves the chronic jury-rigger
nothing. If
you are living in a duct tape world, make a commitment to make permanent repairs
to your jury- rigging. You will feel more confident and in control with every
permanent repair you make to tighten up your ship. Call
or e-mail me about your jury-rigging practices. We can talk about how a business
coach can help you cut loose from all of that "rigging". | 
