Is your mirror fogged or broken?

A broken mirror is worth seven years of bad luck, or so we are told. Jeffrey Hayzlett’s book The Mirror Test, suggests businesses take a reflective, proverbial look in the mirror. Specifically, Hayzlett suggests three simple mirror tests to quickly evaluate if your business has what it takes to succeed — to see if your mirror is fogged or broken.

Mirror Tests (summarized)

1. Proof of Life: Can you fog the mirror? If you can, it means you are breathing and living. For businesses, this can be more aptly asked by are you making money and growing your bottom line.
2. Leadership: Leaders lead. Specifically, leaders must know who they are, what they are in business for, what value they provide to the market, and where the business needs to go.
3. The Bottom Line: Activities that grow the bottom line (profit) should be the primary focus and never compete on price. “Better to make what you have right now better than anyone else’s and build that bottom line with an eye on profit (instead of revenue) – that’s what keeps your business fogging the mirror.”, says Hayzlett.

Like so many other business books, The Mirror Test seems to reiterate the seemingly obvious. However obvious the subject matter, business owners (especially small business) tend to gloss over the planning and vision for the company that requires decisive leadership vision. Too often, it is a case of being in the weeds and not seeing the forest for the trees.

Businesses are dependent upon people: people who work to add to create the product or service (employees), people who supply inputs into the business (vendors), and people who ultimately make purchases (customers). Explaining the people factor is where Hayzlett’s mid-western practicalities really shine. Employees should be engaged, encouraged, measured, rewarded, supported. Likewise, customers should never be taken for granted. If any of these groups start demanding more resources than they provide, someone Hayzlett refers to as Gravy Sucking Pigs, then fire them. Letting these unhealthy situations fester, after all, is like trying to slowly pull off a BandAid — it does not work.

Gravy Sucking Pig: Customers, vendors, or employees who suck up everything at the “trough” of your business — far more than their fair share — and are still never satisfied. Usually allowed to feed longer than they should and must be put to slaughter as soon as possible.

Are you buried in the weeds and need to take a stop back? Have you been avoiding correcting or firing a few “gravy sucking pigs”?