Race teams carefully plan pit stops to ensure peak performance throughout the race. They’re timed based on position in the race, competitive actions, and track conditions. Pit stops are practiced and perfected.
There are 20 people on the pit crew in this photo, plus the driver. In a sport where winning is often a matter of seconds, those 21 people practice pit stops over and over to shave tenths of a second off their time. Pit crews know their performance is critical to success on the track.
Companies perform better with pit stops as well. Let’s examine 3 types of company pit stops:
- Re-fuel pit stop: Race cars don’t run start to finish during a race without stopping to refuel several times. Same with your people – they need refueling to stay fresh, to run the long race, to build endurance.
- Company all-hands meetings can be used to refuel employees – just don’t make ’em boring!
- Training is another way to refuel, to learn new things and be exposed to new ideas, whether on- or off-site.
- Networking and Industry Events are yet another way to refuel; they provide the opportunity to update on competitors, your industry, to see new ideas, to learn new ways of doing things, and to catch up with industry colleagues and leaders.
- Diagnostic pit stop: Race cars perform better when adjustments are made based on diagnostics, usually to enhance performance. Same with your company –
- Gathering your employees to review company diagnostics and discussing adjustments to enhance performance is invaluable at the Department, Division and Company level – don’t make reviewing the metrics a yawner – this is the perfect time to inject some well-earned RECOGNITION for teams and individuals.
- Diagnostics are one thing, insight into what’s behind the numbers is far more meaningful. On the race track, the crew asks the driver what he or she thinks is going on. In your company, asking your managers and employees what’s behind the numbers will yield insights you can actually use to enhance performance.
- Repair pit stop: Just like race cars need repairs during a race, there isn’t a company alive that hasn’t spent some time in the repair shop –
- Sometimes parts break on a race car, and in your company, things don’t always go as planned
- Other times your competitors do something unexpected – and you need your team’s best ideas for how to counter-attack
The common element here is planning your company’s pit stops. Don’t allow disaster to strike before taking a time out. Like the most successful race car teams with pit crews who practice pit stops over and over, when you practice company pit stops, your team will be prepared for making the right tweaks at the right time to maintain and even increase your competitive edge.
