MASTERING THE REDUNDANCY MINDSET

In the modern world, redundancy gets a bad rap.  The fear is that if you are redundant, you are expendable.  It has become a euphemism for “about to be laid-off.” 

As a business owner, as an Intentional Advisor, redundancy is actually the key to delivering on the promises we make to our clients.   

I strive for three types of redundancy: people, places and things.  Let’s explore each. 

PEOPLE 

Earlier this year, my Practice Manager’s father passed away.  She was MIA for a couple weeks and operating at half speed for longer than that.  What do you do?  She is my right hand gal!?  And her father just passes way…but the show must go on.  

Fortunately, two years ago we hired another woman who has been working very closely with our indispensable colleague.  It wasn’t seamless, but from the client’s perspective it was pretty darn close.  We were able to get through that period, give our staff member some space to grieve and keep the wheels on the bus.  

PLACES 

I don’t know where you live, but in Colorado, Snowmagedden is a real thing.  This year we have already closed the office for four days and it’s not even December 1st.  That can really put a damper on the business if you aren’t prepared.  And realize, just because it’s snowing in Denver, doesn’t mean my clients in California are off for the day! 

But, it’s not a problem for us.  Over the last couple of years we have made sure that every single team member has a laptop and that our systems are cloud based so that we can literally work from anywhere! 

THINGS 

A couple of weeks ago I was working with clients and I noticed my laptop was running out of juice, but it was plugged in…uh oh!  It swiftly went from 14% to 0% and never turned back on. Did I mention that I had another meeting that day and was headed out of the office on a business trip the next day!? 

I was able to snag my Practice Manager’s computer, plug into my system and conduct the next meeting.  All of our computers are compatible and we store everything on a doubly redundant storage unit.  I have an ipad I use at home and it served as my business conduit during my trip and by the time I returned, our Business Manager had a new computer set up with all required software and security in place.  

Redundancy is not a bad word.  Redundancy is the sign of a mature business.  We aren’t perfect, but we are definitely functional even when things go wrong.  We can do our jobs.  We can deliver on our promises.   Can you? 

Can the business keep going if any one member of your team was out of action? 

Can you function if you don’t have access to your office? 

Can you deliver on your promises when technology fails you? 

Don’t get me wrong. We are not perfect and I aspire to even more progress in this area.  Redundancy is a mindset and is something that needs to be ingrained into every aspect of your business culture to be effective.  

I hope you will join me in my efforts give redundancy a much needed image makeover!  May we all aspire to a redundancy mindset! 

With Purpose,

-Lucila

Are you redundant?  Is your team?  I would love to hear your horror stories about when it all went wrong and your wins when you nailed it by overcoming adversity with redundancy! 

Come on over to the TIA Mastermind Facebook Group and share your story…