Cars, bikes, airplanes…

Cars, bikes, airplanes, even your children's’ swing sets perform worse when there’s friction between some of the moving parts. Friction is why doors squeak, why wheels sometimes wobble, and why - at least thus far - no one has been able to invent a perpetual motion machine.

Try as we might, we have friction in our business. Groups of people or individuals who should work smoothly together end up rubbing each other the wrong way. The intersection between a specific function and region of the business should work smoothly together, but end up somehow out of whack and misaligned. And, just like the airplane or car parts rubbing against each other, this inter-personal friction causes the company to perform poorly. We sometimes lazily chalk this up to "just people being people." It does not have to be that way.

When friction builds up in something around the house we apply a dab of WD-40 to it. At least for a time then that makes the squeak go away, and it makes the parts work more efficiently and more effectively. Metaphorically we need to also apply WD-40 to our business wherever this friction builds up. You know the old expression about the squeaky wheel getting the grease. We’ve got squeaky wheels at Michelman that need some grease - or some WD-40! You know it when you see or hear it or see it.

Anytime we’re working at cross purposes (fighting over internal turf, for example) this causes friction. It does NOTHING for our customers or other stakeholders. This really is a symptom of either a lack of alignment around what really matters, or perhaps even some "personal muscle flexing..."   Rather than living with it or even perpetuating it, apply the WD-40. The WD-40 in this case usually comes in some form of conversation or real dialogue. Colleagues who live the Michelman values "collaborate" to resolve differences. Make the friction go away!