£25.05 At The Petrol Pump...

I stood at the petrol pump, gently squeezing the handle, watching the amount readout slowly increase £24.91… £24.93…. £24.97… £25.05… dang!

Since I learnt to drive, (many years ago) I’ve always had the same ritual at the petrol pump – I buy petrol in round amounts. £15, £20, £25. – No nasty change to find, no walking away with 97 pence in 2’s and 1’s.

But you know this day was different. As I watched the petrol pump hit £25.05 I realized that getting to round figures didn’t really matter to me anymore. I now normally pay for my petrol with my visa card!… there is no change to worry about!

Whether in a high pressure project environment, or at the petrol pump. People rarely question the rituals they’ve spent years practising. Conditions change, and yet we continue to use the same traditions and rituals.

Now I was only losing seconds a week at the petrol pump, but there are companies and projects (Yours?) losing hundreds of thousands of pounds daily because of their adherence to traditional ways of doing things.

So, could some of the bedrock processes that your company undertakes be overdue for a review… you betcha!

You might be surprised, you may find some simple solutions that lead to major results that really get you noticed!

**Did you ever hear that story of someone saving their company millions by moving to envelopes with little plastic windows instead of printing the address on the envelope?

£25.05 …. works for me!

—Jason Bates

Tags: behaviours, ritual, business, project, mindfulness