The Stripe and the Turtle: Business Buffoonery

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Scary dreams, from which you wake up in a cold sweat, are rare for me. However, I do have the occasional dream where I’m fighting business buffoonery, and that can cause me to work up a lather. I must admit, it seems a little unfair that Paul McCartney of the Beatles can have a dream, then wake up with a song like “Yesterday,” and it becomes one of the biggest hits of all time - a classic even. But, that’s for another blog!

A few days ago, my alarm clock rang annoyingly after a fitful night. I climbed out of bed like the old man that I’m not, and my wife - always a picture of beauty herself, her hair in a Medusa "do" - asked about my restless night.

“I kept dreaming stupid dreams, none of which made any sense,” I told her, “most of which I’ve already forgotten.”  But, she insisted I give her even one example.

“OK,” I sighed, “here’s one you’ll like.  It was about a dumb stripe and a turtle.”  That drew a laugh.

“What was it about?” she asked.

“Oh, it was just a bunch of nonsense, and I can’t remember it really - except I think it was a sea turtle. You know, one with flippers.”  Susan smiled knowingly. She’s used to my ever-active mind, bent on inventing business process management systems to end business chaos even in my sleep!

“It sounds like a BLOG to me,” she said. “You write and do videos all the time about the nonsense of a business operating without standard procedures or systems. Maybe your readers need to meet ‘The Stripe and a Turtle.’ It makes about as much sense as all the business buffoonery you encounter!” She had that right.

Business Buffoonery | Groundhog Day

For clarity, Susan edits all my writing materials, so she reads about all the nonsense we hear from business owners and managers. It’s amazing, the stories you hear about the stupid mistakes company’s tolerate, working in a senseless, repetitive, mind-boggling, chaotic, “Keystone Cop-ish” atmosphere!

At one time, that was MY business! I suffered through a similar nightmare; much worse than dreaming about some ridiculous stripe and turtle. The good news is, I woke up!

The sad thing is, many people go to work and live that nightmare daily. It makes me think of that film, “Groundhog Day.” You know, a redundant trip inside a never-ending situation where chaos is “normal,” but nothing makes a lick of sense. In fact, for some business owners, it’s tantamount to that absurd stripe and turtle dream that goes nowhere, but in a meaningless circle. True business buffoonery!

Folks, if your business situation is more like a tedious, nonsensical dream; we’ve experienced a much better dream that has become a happy reality. As a result, we shout about it from the rooftops every day for several years now; hoping to wake up small business owners and managers to better business practices.

Simply stated, we want to see this dream of a systematized business come true for others.

I know for a fact, it’s a dream many business owners often have; about the freedom to do things they’ve always wanted to do, but never had the time. It’s a dream, where their business operates flawlessly without them having to be ever-present. Moreover, it’s a dream about a business that continues to grow while remaining profitable.

That dream has become reality for many now. It can come true for you!

Did I mention?  Great systems work!