Small Biz Vantage

I used to think handing off a task meant I had delegated it.

Now I know ownership has not been transferred until the outcome, decision authority, escalation point, and follow-up are clear.

Otherwise, the task may move, but the responsibility still belongs to the owner.

Attending ATRA Expo: Join me for and engaging session. Lead your team and reduce owner overload. You're team will feel the difference.

A better calendar may organize your workload, but it cannot fix responsibilities that should not be reaching you.

Join me LIVE, when I’ll show you what must be clear before you hand off a recurring responsibility.

Join me Tuesday, when I’ll show you what must be clear before you hand off a recurring responsibility. Link in comments

At an eighth-grade career night session I facilitate, a father shared that he had grown up hearing, “Become an engineer and you’ll be successful.”

So he did. He earned the degree. He became an engineer. And he wasn’t happy.

Eventually, he told his wife, “I want to become an auto technician.” He returned to school, changed careers, and now loves what he does.

I asked him, “What made the difference?” His answer stayed with me: “As an engineer, I was too removed from the end product.”

He wanted to work with his hands. He wanted to solve problems he could see. He wanted to experience the result of his work.

Success isn’t determined by whether someone chooses a four-year college, trade school, or another form of training. It comes from finding work that matches how they are wired and becoming highly skilled at it.

We need to stop presenting the trades as the backup plan for students who aren’t “college material.”

The trades are a first-choice career for people who want meaningful work, valuable skills, strong earning capability, and the satisfaction of seeing what they accomplished at the end of the day.

Does your auto shop team bring you problems without recommendations? Learn how your quickest answers may be creating decision dependency in your auto shop.