Category Archives: Exit Strategy

The Monkey Story – Developing Procedures

The Monkey Story

It seems that there was a research project in which the scientists used four monkeys, a ladder and a banana. They put the four monkeys in a room with the ladder and put the banana on top of the ladder.

As monkeys will, the first monkey smelled the banana and started up the ladder. When he got half way up, the scientists turned on a water cannon filled with ice cold water. The cannon knocked the first monkey off the ladder and then iced down the other three monkeys. The monkeys huddled in the room shivering from the cold bath.

After a while, once the monkeys had warmed up, a second monkey smelled the banana and started up the ladder. Again, the water cannon came on, knocked her off the ladder and iced down the other monkeys for good measure.

When the third monkey started to go up the ladder for the banana, the other three monkeys grabbed him and beat the “you know what” out of the errant monkey. The scientists were quite surprised to see that behavior. They decided to introduce a new element into the experiment.

One of the monkeys was removed from the room and replaced by a new monkey. Before long, the new monkey smelled the banana and headed up the ladder. Sure enough, the other three monkeys grabbed the new monkey pulled her down and beat the tar out of her.

The scientists again replaced one of the first group of monkeys and the scenario repeated itself. They kept replacing monkeys until all of the original monkeys who had been iced down were gone.

When the new monkey went for the banana, guess what happened?  That’s right, the rest of the monkeys taught the new monkey not to go for the banana!  And none of them knew why they did it any more!

Is this how procedures are developed at your business?

Need help?  Call us at 210-690-3700 for a free no obligation consultation.  Get twice as much for your business or fire yourself and keep the money coming.

Is your business building equity or are you just creating a job that looks like a business?

“In fact, there is ultimately only one reason to create a business of your own, and that is to sell it.” Michael Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited.

Most people create a new business so that they can do what they love to do They think they can make a business out of their talent. The new business owner may not realize that there is much more to creating a business than just doing the technical work.

Financials, marketing, ordering, collecting, etc.

Here’s the question?

Is your business building equity or are you just creating a job that looks like a business?

Here is the audience participation part 

1. If you take off all of next week and do nothing in your business, what will happen to the income of the business?

2. If you take off all of next week and do nothing in your business, what will happen to the flow of new business?

3. Do you have a written business continuity plan?

4. Do you have videos or audios of your plans for the business over the next three years?

5. When someone calls your office to schedule an appointment, does someone different answer the phone and/or do they have a set script to use to answer the call and close the appointment?

6. Who is your favored buyer for your business?

Do you have a name ready or do you have no clue whom the buyer would be?

7. If you do not come back from your next appointment, ever, who will sign checks at your company?

8. Will your death cause your company’s lines of credit to be called due?

9. Do you have a checklist to be followed if you are suddenly disabled and unable to care for the business?

10.  And the magic question:

Have you fired yourself yet?