Blue Elevator Blog

Revealing Secrets

We’re ready to begin revealing secrets.  Perhaps you have been following along in this article series.

1. We started with My Quest.  When I started this series, I shared about my decades-long journey to find the secret to business success.
2. As you know, I was looking for a simple formula for Business Alchemy.  I was hoping to find a one-step, sure-fire way of turning any business into gold.
3. Then, I revealed to you The Big Secret.  That, alas, there was no simple, silver magic bullet.  You can’t make gold.
4. Next, I revealed to you since you can’t make gold, the best you can do is go about Finding Business Gold.

 The Scientific Method

Anyone who has taken high school biology or a science class may recall the scientific method.  The scientific method, loosely described, is as follows:

• Observation (I set out to observe successful business owners and their businesses).
• Prediction (I predicted – or hoped – or hypothesized – that there was a simple formula that ensured business success).
• Testing (I tested to see if there was such a thing as business alchemy).
• Generalization (Oh, the things I found!).

What I Found

Man, if I could find the ONE THING that would guarantee business success – that would be something.  As you know, I didn’t find that single, simple formula.  My hypothesis – and my hope – were dashed.

BUT, I did find something else.

The Big Secret

I didn’t find what I was looking for.  But, actually, I did.  What I should say is, I didn’t find what I thought I would find.  Instead, I found so much more.

And, here’s the BIG SECRET: Instead of finding the ONE THING that would guarantee business success, I found something else.

And thank God, what I found were hundreds of secrets – or gold nuggets.  That’s right, hundreds.  I was learning to find business gold.

The Big Conundrum

These new and exciting “secrets” and “nuggets” brought additional challenges.  You see, I had to test each “secret” in and of itself.

Presently, this experiment is going on one score and ten.  That’s three decades, or 30 years … and counting, God willing.

A Moving Target

Not only did I have to test the “secrets,” but I also had to re-test them.  The reason is this:

God forbid you get bit by a venomous snake.  But if you do, you will need antivenin (e.g., antivenom).  Routinely, medical professionals must continually update and test these vaccines.  And, this is because snake venom is always changing.  What worked five years ago may no longer be effective today.

So, in a similar way, for each of these business “secrets,” I had to test and retest them.  Business is organic and constantly changing – just like snake venom.

Case in point:  In my lifetime, we’ve seen the invention of smart phones, the Internet, and social media.  Thirty years ago, none of these existed.

So, how does one provide timely and proven business advisory among a constantly changing business environment?  Let me explain.

Here’s A Story

I hope this parable, or story, will help illustrate a point.  And, the point answers the question above.

How does one provide timely and proven business advisory among a constantly changing business environment?

My son, Bob, is a super-talented and super-technical commercial HVAC professional.  He didn’t start out as one.  But, thank God, he has developed into one.  Presently, in his position, he is charged with fixing anything and everything that could possibly “break” on any given day.

This is significant, as every store, business, etc. has different types of equipment.  And, there are all kinds of different manufacturers for each piece of equipment: freezers, refrigerators, ice machines, water coolers, cooking equipment, furnaces, package units, etc.  Literally, the list goes on and on.

But, basically, he has to successfully fix anything and everything that might go down.  And, he has to fix it correctly and fast.  A grocery store can’t afford to lose thousands of dollars of ribeye steaks and ice cream.

Whereas most commercial “Refrigeration Technicians” might do three service calls a day, Bob might do ten or more.

This means, on any given day, he is probably going to see a new customer.  And, he is going to see a new (actually old) piece of equipment that he’s never seen before.  But, regardless of the piece of equipment, he has to fix it – and fix it right the first time.

So, how do you successfully fix something you’ve never worked on before?  It’s simple.  However …

Simple Ain’t Easy

To fix things he’s never encountered before, Bob has to have mastered the underlying principles.

You see, applications (e.g., different types of equipment) always change.  And, so do the techniques (e.g., different ways of making things).  But, principles (e.g., gravity, physics, etc.) don’t change.  He’s had to learn tried-and-true, proven principles.

And, he uses these principles, God willing, to diagnose and repair any number and type of HVAC issue.

The Blue Elevator™ Take-Away

In a similar way, at Blue Elevator™, we have taken hundreds of business “secrets” and distilled them down.  Additionally, we have packaged these secrets for you – our Member clients.

As much as possible, we have positioned our advisory to be principle-based.  As such, we have proven principles – or secrets – we want to convey to you.  We want to give you these secrets or gold nuggets so, God willing, you can use them to help solve all sorts of business challenges.

We Don’t Create The Secrets: We Reveal Them

For the benefit of our Members, we continue to memorialize these secrets in article form.  We have literally locked and loaded these secrets.  Finally, we want to give these secrets to you – our Member clients – as the situation arises.

But, let’s give credit where credit is due.  We didn’t create these secrets; All we’re doing is revealing them.  For the most part, if we got them right, these tried, true, and proven secrets are God-given principles.

And, as the story above suggests, once you know the principle – you can begin to apply it.  Do you want to know the great thing about tried-and-true, God-given principles?  You can apply them to an almost limitless number of situations.  Regardless of the current applications and associated techniques, God-given principles never change.

Are You Ready?

Would you like to consider adding a Blue Elevator™ Membership to your arsenal?

We have untold secrets to tell and gold nuggets to share.  Contact us if you would like to learn more.