Dunsmuir Shell is a large, profitable Shell station in Victoria, British Columbia. Mr. Dunsmuir has a unique approach which has enabled him to build a successful business.
Most readers of this article would not like to make a career of pumping gasoline in a service station. Dunsmuir Shell recognized that and capitalized on it.
This isn’t a trick question.
Certainly you know the answer, the person who has been responsible for the life you live right now: YOU.
Everything about you is a result of your doing or not doing… Your income. Debt. Relationships. Health. Fitness level. Attitudes and behaviors.
I’ve often said that you are either creating or allowing everything that is happening in your life.
I think everyone knows this in their hearts, but often times people convince themselves into thinking that external factors are the source of their failure, disappointment, and unhappiness.
Sometimes, we get so busy competing against our competition that we forget to learn from them. We are trained to point out our own strengths and the weaknesses of our competition, but this only tells part of the story.
In business or any other competitive environment, it is always good to ask ourselves the following questions:
1. Other than ourselves, who in our field would we recommend someone to do business with?
2. Why would we recommend our competition?
3. What things do they do better than we do?
4. What can we learn from them?
There are some tasks that require all of our effort and energy. These types of tasks demand our best efforts and constant ongoing improvement. For example, if you are a parent, you should always be performing at your best and constantly seeking to be a better parent.
On the other hand, there are routine, mundane tasks that each of us must perform regularly. These tasks simply require a basic level of performance within a certain window of acceptability.
A doctor does not pour his cup of coffee each morning with the same degree of exacting focus that he employs when he performs surgery. We are all confronted with the ongoing question, “When is good enough, good enough?”