(I shared this story in episode #2709 of my Work On Your Game MasterClass, “#2709: What Are You Pretending Not To See?”)

A busy warehouse in the middle of a bustling city was in the midst of an emergency.

The big, warehouse-sized machine that ran the factory had malfunctioned.

All activity in the warehouse was at a standstill, as nothing could happen without the broken machine not running.

The facility manager was sweating bullets.

If they could not get this machine back working, shipments would be delayed, complaints would come flying in and jobs would be on the line. This machine needed fixing, NOW.

A mechanic was called in on short notice. The nervous facility manager watched as the mechanic looked around at the huge machine, trying to find the issue.

Luckily, it took the mechanic only 3 minutes to find it.

He pulled out a wrench and tightened one small screw in one corner of the machine. Five quiet seconds later, the big machine started back up and everything was back to normal.

The manager thanked the mechanic profusely and asked how much he owed the mechanic for his work.

“$10,000.”

The facility manager was shocked by the fee. But he decided to play along.

“Sure — just send me an itemized invoice for your work, and I’ll gladly pay it.”

The mechanic replied that he could write the invoice on the spot — just give me a pencil and paper, he said.

The Invoice:

• Tightening the screw: $1
• Knowing which screw to tighten: $9,999

He handed the invoice to the facility manager.

The manager read it, smiled and nodded.

He paid the mechanic’s $10,000 invoice.

***

You don’t have an effort issue.

You have no problem doing the work, changing the work and doing more work when you see there’s something that needs to be done.

The problem is, you’re doing the wrong work.

Work that doesn’t move the needle.
Work that makes you tired more than it makes you money.
You’re playing whack-a-mole every day, putting out small, insignificant fires that make you feel busy.

What you have is an insight issue.

Asking the wrong questions.
Solving the wrong problems.
And doubling down on effort as a solution.

STOP.

You need better questions and better angles from which to look at your actions.

Different and better approaches to how you run your business.

More hard work is NOT what you need.

A different approach + LESS effort = better results.

Does that sound good?

Start Here: http://www.WorkOnYourGame.net/apply