Metaphorically Speaking

Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature where I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.

Writers and speakers often use metaphors and analogies to help illustrate and explain their points in a more relatable way. For example, our pastor seldom preaches a sermon without some form of an analogy or metaphor. It’s an excellent way to make an abstract, or in his case, a spiritual concept, more tangible.

Here’s a good example. When my wife, Sue, and I were new to Prescott, Arizona, we were looking for a church. We decided to visit a church named “Starting Point,” which, at that time, met in a nearby coffee shop. On the first Sunday we attended, the Pastor, JT Schultz, preached about a New Testament character named Zacchaeus (pronounced zack-e-us). According to the biblical account, Zacchaeus was a small man, and when he heard that Jesus was approaching, he climbed up a tree so he could see Him over the crowd. (If you’re interested, the whole story is in Luke chapter 19.)

Now, JT is also a short man. He self-describes his height as 5’6” on a tall day. That day, to make the story memorable, JT preached the sermon from the top of a tall ladder. Did it work? Well, here I am, years later, sharing the story with you.

Metaphors and analogies make points with some stickiness to them – they tend to stick in our minds. I figure if they stick in my mind, they’re probably affecting my actions in some way as well.

In this article, I’ll borrow some points from another of JT’s sermons and relate them to running your shop. One recent Sunday, we walked into the church to find that the chairs were pushed back, all facing the center of the sanctuary where a pickleball court had been marked off with colored tape, including a net, as well. That day’s sermon was based on five keys to playing pickleball and how they also applied to biblical teaching and life. As a nationally ranked pickleball player and a Pastor, JT is fully qualified to speak on both subjects. Briefly, without all the spiritual details, here are JT’s five key points.

1. Keep your eyes on the ball. Keep your eyes on God.
2. Pickleball is played in a community of players. Find other like-minded people to learn from and share with.
3. Get in the right position – on the court and in your heart.
4. Don’t let mistakes and failures get in your head. We’re going to make mistakes in pickleball and in life. Graciously forgive others for their mistakes, and don’t be too hard on yourself.
5. Get in shape and keep a healthy balance in life – physically, mentally, and spiritually.

As an avid pickleball player, I can attest to the importance of these five points. As a business consultant, I also see how they can help in running a better business. Now, let’s examine how these pickleball tips can apply to your business.

1. Keep your eyes on the ball. Metaphorically speaking, the ball could be any of several KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) in your business. KPIs are the critical indicators of progress toward an intended objective. They focus on strategic and operational improvement, create an analytical (measurable) basis for decisionmaking, and help focus attention on what matters most. As Peter Drucker famously said, “What gets measured gets done.”Managing KPIs includes setting targets and tracking progress against those targets. Frequently used KPIs are sales, profits, cost and expense containment, productivity, and quality.
2. Both pickleball and business are played in a community. Find other like-minded people to learn from and share with. If you’re reading this article at the Powertrain EXPO, you’re just a “Hello” away from making an acquaintance that could grow into a lifelong relationship with someone who shares the same business challenges as you. You’ll find that most members of our industry are eager to exchange ideas and help one another find solutions to problems. In fact, helping one another is the foundational spirit behind ATRA.Even if you couldn’t attend this year’s EXPO, the ATRA team and your fellow ATRA members stand ready to help. Good ways to meet other like-minded shop owners are to join a Regional Chapter or reach out to the home office staff for introductions to other shop owners. We also have a stable of reputable teachers, speakers, writers, and consultants who specialize in automotive business management.
3. Get in the right position. In pickleball, as in business, the game is more difficult whenever you’re out of position. When you’re in the correct position, difficult shots are easier. When you’re in the wrong position, even easy shots are difficult.
   Getting in the right position requires anticipating what is about to happen. Metaphorically speaking, Wayne Gretzky was one of the greatest hockey players of all time. He was asked to share his success secret, and he replied, “I don’t skate to where the puck is. I skate to where it’s going to be.” Of course, this requires experience and knowledge, but even more important is developing keen situational (positional) awareness.Likewise, by being in the right position, astute business leaders anticipate opportunities before their competitors do. Some businesses are so late that they miss out altogether. For example, many shops used positional awareness to not only survive but to thrive through the last two years of pandemic-related challenges.

   SWOT Analysis is perhaps, one of the best ways to assess situational circumstances and get your business in the best position to succeed. SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. A SWOT analysis requires that you take a brutally honest look at your business and those of your competitors.

   • What are your strengths and their strengths?
   • What are your weaknesses and their weaknesses?
   • What opportunities exist for you as a result?
   • What threats exist to you as a result?
   • What do you need to do to get in the right position?

   You can find tons of in-depth information by searching SWOT Analysis on the internet. However, you might want to consider contacting an industry expert. Our own Jim Cathcart would be an excellent place to start. You’ll find Jim’s contact information at the end of any of his GEARS Magazine articles. There’s one in every issue, including this one – see his article here.

4. Don’t let mistakes and failures get in your head. If you’re alive and breathing, making mistakes is inevitable. Everybody fails from time to time. It’s just part of life. So, it’s important to be forgiving of others when they make a mistake. However, it’s also essential that you forgive yourself for failures and mistakes. Don’t be so hard on yourself. The fear of failure can prevent you from trying new things and tapping into new opportunities.It’s cliché to say learn from your mistakes. Yes, it’s smart to learn from our mistakes. However, wouldn’t it be wiser to learn from other people’s mistakes? By the way, that’s one of the benefits of SWOT Analysis.
5. Get in shape and keep a healthy balance in life – physically, mentally, and spiritually. Metaphorically speaking, when your life is out of balance, it’s like driving a car with tires that need balancing. It’s a rough ride, and if severe enough, it’s dangerous.
   • Get in better physical shape. It’s not easy, but you’ll find that the physical aspects of life improve when you do. And when you’re in better physical shape, it’s easier to maintain it and fight off diseases. If you’re not getting in better shape, it’s most likely because you haven’t made it a priority. Like planting a tree, the best time to plant it was 20 years ago. The second-best time to plant it is today. So, get started on your road to getting in better physical shape.
   • While continuous learning is one key to keeping your mind healthy, there’s more to it than just learning. A healthy mind requires nourishment. Not just the nutrients that come from healthy food, but the kind of nourishment that comes from what you think about, how you think, and how well you filter what you allow to come into your mind. You also must rest your mind. We tend to live in 100% “go mode” and 0% “rest mode.” We’ve become too busy to find ways to become less busy. We live in the age of overload under the tyranny of the urgent. We need to create some “white space” where we pause for recuperative recovery between bursts of activity. Two good resources for help with work-life balance strategies are EXPO Speakers Maryann Croce and Rodger Bland. You don’t want to miss either of their presentations, but if you do, they’re both willing and available to help you with the challenges of balancing life. You can reach them through ATRA or GEARS Magazine.
   • Spiritual life balance is a profoundly personal matter, and as such, it’s difficult to address in a secular magazine article. Respecting that, how you approach it in your life is your choice. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of places you could go to find spiritual advice. However, if you’re a regular reader of this column, you know that my spiritual life balance includes my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you’d like to talk about this or anything else in this article, feel free to contact me.

One final point. Metaphorically speaking, if we think of pickleball, business, and life as games, perhaps we should add one more tip – have fun playing them!

About the Author

Thom Tschetter has served our industry for nearly four decades as a management and sales educator. He owned a chain of award-winning transmission centers in Washington State for over 25 years.

He calls on over 30 years of experience as a speaker, writer, business consultant, and certified arbitrator for topics for this feature column.

Thom is always eager to help you improve your business and your life. You can contact him by phone at (480) 773-3131 or e-mail to coachthom@gmail.com.