Summary: A parable about being realistic, turning away opportunities, or getting squashed on the pavement.
Enjoy the following parable:
A very large and very hungry spider spun a web. It was a lot of work, but within minutes of finishing his masterpiece he had a delicious catch. A fly flew into his web, and the spider ate his treat.
"Scrumptious snack," he thought, "but I need more" -- for as I said, he was a very large and very hungry spider.
"If I spin a larger web, perhaps I can catch a larger meal."
So he set to work. He spun a large, beautiful web. He waited and waited, and soon a butterfly flew right into it.
"Hallelujah," he exclaimed. "This will make a tasty snack." The spider devoured his snack, but he still wanted more.
He was very large and very hungry indeed.
"I will now spin a HUGE web -- the biggest, most beautiful web a spider has ever spun. I'll have myself a feast!" said he.
So our spider friend spent hours spinning and spinning and spinning. He was exhausted (and worked up an even bigger appetite) until, finally, he could spin no more. He had created the biggest, most beautiful web a spider had ever spun.
After what seemed like forever to our very large and hungry spider, along came his prey -- right into the web, just as he planned.
But his prey was a human, who destroyed the spider's creation and squashed him flat on the pavement.
My, what a morbid parable that was, no? I apologize for writing something so depressing. But the truth is, in this world of unlimited marketing and over-inflated self-image, many "spiders" spin webs bigger than the prey they can "eat."
When I created the parable I was thinking of how job hunters beef up their resumes and confidently, carelessly, apply for jobs they are not truly prepared for. They may get the interview -- could possibly even schmooze their way into the job -- but they will soon get squashed on the pavement.
The application is even bigger than that, however. And this topic really irks me as a Quality-minded professional, so I need to comment on it.
It is hard as a calculus final exam to find a company with a plan for turning away business. Yes, I said "turn away business."
Take a deep breath, pop a glycerin tablet, then continue.
Increased sales volume is intoxicating. Those numbers go up, and so does your adrenaline. You spin your web bigger and bigger. You take customers with needs you haven't addressed before and, though no one will say it, you really aren't sure if you can. You have a special person or group -- maybe a Sales or Engineering Director, maybe someone else -- to which those "challenging" requests are sent. But that person has been trained to always say "yes." We'll make it happen.
Then what happens? You do your best, but you produce an inferior product and hope they won't notice or you run your established customers behind schedule. If neither of those is true, then you have really overworked your employees and morale really stinks.
In any of those cases, quality suffers -- product quality, on-time quality, or employee relations quality.
You spun your web and got squashed on the pavement.
Though it's pervasive, I've noticed that this phenomenon is more common among smaller companies.
Coincidence, or cause/effect?
Please -- for the sake of your customers and your employees -- know how big a web you should spin. Have a realistic "turn away business" plan in place, and enforce it.
Your feast will come soon enough.
Why does this happen? What do you think? Sound off by leaving a comment below. Or, contact me directly.
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