To me, one of the great technological advances in automotive engineering has been the invention of cruise control. It gives the driver the ability to drive at a comfortable, safe, and legal speed without having to worry about slowly creeping up in speed and suddenly discovering in a panic that I’m driving well over 80 miles per hour and are in danger of receiving a very expensive speeding ticket - don’t ask me how I know about this! But some drivers think cruise control is a “set-it-and-forget-it” control, a mindset that can be very dangerous, even fatal, especially in heavy traffic when all drivers need to be alert and actively in control of their vehicles. It doesn’t take a vivid imagination to think of the bad consequences of using cruise control at rush hour on a large city expressway.

It would be nice to have a cruise control device to use in managing a business. There are some parts of a business that are methodical or easily scheduled, where systems and processes are in place and working properly, insuring that things are running smoothly. Those parts of the business are a perfect use for a cruise control type of control.

There is a problem however, when people use cruise control on tasks that are variable, difficult, or require active judgment. Those tasks require skilled, alert people who are actively in control of the situation because it’s too easy to find those parts of the business going too fast, too slow, in the wrong direction, or even off a cliff when no one is actively at the controls. When those parts of the business are on cruise control, all sorts of gruesome, terrible things can happen – the wrong people get paid, shipments are late, inventory isn’t counted, customers are treated badly, computers are not backed-up, thefts occur, hours are padded, and much more. Bankruptcy courts are filled with businesses that allowed crucial parts of their processes to be managed on cruise control.

Just as good judgment is essential when engaging cruise control when driving, use good judgment when engaging it to help manage your business. Have a safe journey.

~ Larry Galler. Write to Larry on larry@larrygaller.com.