Holding on Too Tight

In the classic 1986 movie Top Gun, Navy fighter pilot Cougar (played by John Stockwell) finds himself and his plane locked in the gun sights of a MiG fighter. After eventually landing safely he reports to his commanding officer’s office and resigns by announcing, “I’m holding on too tight. I’ve lost the edge.”

While Top Gun is just a movie, this scene illustrates an important point voiced years ago by Stephen Covey: we sometimes can get so caught up in processes and in making sure we’re doing things right that we overlook the bigger picture or fail to ask ourselves if we’re doing the right things. In business, this plays itself out on a couple of different levels.

On a procedural level we can all agree that having well-documented procedures for how to produce superior products and services consistently is a great idea. After all, famed business author Michael Gerber built a career flogging this concept. At the same time, it’s easy to get so caught up in HOW we do things that we forget WHY we’re doing them in the first place. And while this might work for solo operators, as more people are added to an organization the importance of WHY we do what we do increases. WHY we do things brings more meaning to HOW we do them. It also helps keep us from being blindsided by changes that take place in our industry.

On a strategic level it’s not uncommon for businesses to get so caught up in relying on the things that made them successful in the past that they fail to recognize changes in customer preferences or technology that will help them maintain relevance in the future. The story of Swiss watchmakers in the 1970s is a classic example.

In 1968 Swiss watchmakers commanded 50% of the worldwide market. 50%! Imagine commanding half of the market for the goods and services your company provides in your market area. However, by 1978—just 10 short years later—their once dominant position had fallen to only 10% of the worldwide watch market. What could possibly have caused this? Over-focusing on the past certainly played a role.

At a worldwide watch convention held in Basil, Switzerland, a new technology had been introduced: Quartz technology, which Swiss engineers helped to invent. While Swiss watchmakers focused their attention and money on improving main springs and balance wheels to improve older technology, the rest of the world embraced the technology of the future. As they say, the rest is history.

The lesson learned is that while continuous improvement of our products and services is always important, we don’t want to be so consumed that we overlook the direction in which our markets, technology, and customer preferences are headed. A critical component of strategic planning isn’t just trying to identify new avenues the company needs to pursue but which things it needs to stop doing.

When business owners can keep a soft hand on the throttle of their company, rather than holding on too tight, they’re better able to maintain their edge, make more informed decisions, and fly their company into successful tomorrows.