1. Understanding the Importance of Rhythm
Just as with nature, the rhythm of a business is important. It is easier to swim with the tide than against it, just as it is easier to sell ice cream in summer than in winter. Rhythm is also an essential part of all team work, particularly in sports such as rowing.
A successful rowing crew work together to the same rhythm. This means that they have their oars in the water at the same time, and their oars out of the water at the same time. If a member of a crew gets out of time, (to ‘catch a crab’), the force of this can physically hurt them and even throw them from the boat. When they are rowing in perfect time on still water, the boat skims across the surface so smoothly that it makes a rhythmic sound beneath the boat (to ‘run’). The ‘cox’ (person steering the boat) helps to maintain the rhythm of the crew and guide the boat. Interestingly, the cox should only steer the boat while the oars are in the water – otherwise it upsets the balance and run of the boat.
These same principles apply to business. Various parts of a business should work together to ensure they generate the maximum momentum during periods of high customer demand. Similarly, the management should not attempt to steer the business in a new direction during peak times.
2. Identifying the Rhythm in your Business
Identifying the rhythm of a business can be easier to do in some businesses than others. Some are obvious, such as seasonal holiday destinations, which have peak and off-peak seasons, week days and weekends, etc., nevertheless there are always some key things to look for. Most businesses have a daily rhythm around a known routine, as well as a weekly rhythm. There are also artificial cycles such as financial reporting periods, which fall outside the natural rhythm of the business. Likewise, in school age or education related businesses there are term-based cycles and a well-established annual cycle of nominal holiday periods.
The key is not to confuse the real rhythms of your business with entrenched habits and routines. Try to identify and separate what is actually driving your business from traditional behavioural patterns and personal preferences. Customer demand is often a good starting point for this. Start by identifying when the customers are likely to need things, and then relate that back to when the work needs to be done.
3. Adjusting to the Rhythm
When you know what the rhythm of your business should be, try to align your organisation’s routines around them. This may require adjustments to some policies and procedures, and possibly even some retraining. What you are looking to do is establish a new normal, complete with new habits and behaviours.
Doing this successfully will take some time and planning, and might need to be implemented in stages. But this is not as daunting as it might first appear – try to see every break or quiet period between peaks as an opportunity to install a new change. The bigger the break between peaks, the bigger the change you can realistically make. It helps to implement changes incrementally, such as making sure that the first change is compatible with the existing practices and behaviours that are going to continue.
Another tip is to accept that in order to fix some things properly, more time may be needed. Communicating this approach can help support the rhythm of your team, whereas rushing around or being anxious about something that cannot be easily changed just creates stress, and few people work well under stress. Acknowledge that it needs fixing, plan to fix it, and in the meantime work around it until it is resolved.
4. Working with the Rhythm
Working with the natural rhythm of your business will be much easier and more productive. It means that the off-peak period can be utilised to work on improving the business, so ultimately the peak times run more effectively and efficiently. This takes discipline and understanding to accept that there can be a gap between identifying a problem, and defining and implementing a solution to the problem. Depending on the problem and related solution, this could take a day, a week or a season. The emphasis is on having a lasting fix rather than a quick fix.
You will know when you are getting closer to mastering the rhythms of your business when it has a sense of calm through the sales peaks and troughs, when every trough feels more productive and when every peak seems easier to manage.
Conclusion
Every business has a natural rhythm that can be tapped into in order to improve productivity and customer satisfaction. The first place to look for it is in your sales history. Aligning your business practices to provide the most customers with the best experience will help to grow your business.