Jay LeonardI know this isn’t the sort of business advice you are probably accustomed to, but it works! However, before you rush out and set your septic tank on fire, telling everybody that David told you to do it, please read the full article first. I do NOT recommend actually burning your septic tank…especially if you live in the city.
This post is an allegory with an important business lesson that a lot of entrepreneurs are forgetting these days. But before we get to the lesson, you’ll need to hear the story.
This story starts with a lot of gurgles, a few splashes and general panic around the Leonhardt household. It sure seemed like the septic tank was about to backwash into the house.
No problem, I thought. I can see the patch of grass over the tank where the heat below keeps the ground thawed and the snow melted in the middle of the tank.
Then came the reality check. That was not the middle of the tank; it was just the far corner. Only after an hour of digging, and one section of the metal cover stubbornly refusing to be cleared, that it struck me – there are actually two chambers with two covers. The second chamber, though smaller, is the more important one, where the guck from the house empties into the tank.
That’s where the guck gets stuck.
And none of the packed, frozen earth was coming off of the 200-pound concrete slab that served as a lid for the smaller chamber. Miraculously, after half an hour of digging, chopping and chiseling – yes, down on my knees! – I was able to remove half of the earth in one fell swoop with a crowbar.
But I eventually hit a wall. I thought, “What the world needs more of is blowtorches.” But I didn’t have a blowtorch. As I stood there in the cold, four hours of digging behind me and a month of digging ahead of me, it occurred that this was how pioneers spent their winters – outside working , just as they did in the summer.
And that’s when I got my “Aha!” moment.
I gathered wood and paper and a lighter and created a campfire on top of the lid. It took three separate campfires to cover the three sections that were covered in frozen soil, but it worked! Yes, it actually worked. I stopped breaking my back digging, and instead warmed up (thawed out) to a campfire, then easily removed the earth beneath.
What does any of this have to do with business? When I came into my home office after the sun went down and the fire went out, I saw a Skype message from Brian Hughes, a marketing colleague of mine. I told him I had a great blog post title in mind: “Set fire to your septic tank.”
I explained the lesson this experience had given me: “Sometimes you have to go back to the way the pioneers did things. Let’s go to voice.” He agreed, commenting that “We shouldn’t communicate only by hashtags.”
You would think this is obvious, but the very next day, in another Skype conversation, writing coach Carol Tice was reminding some folks why it is “important to talk to live humans so you can get your own breaking news, instead of just circulating around the web all the time, like 99% of people do.”
I responded that ” I like getting original quotes from folks sometimes, just so that it doesn’t all get inbred.” Which is what you might notice I am doing in this blog post.
Are you so caught up in automation and instant messaging and texting and email that you forget to actually speak voice-to-voice or face-to-face with people (you know, like customers)? Ithappens all the time. And that’s where the guck gets stuck.
Technology is amazing. Automation is handy. But that does not mean we should forget or dismiss the old ways of doing things. Sometimes it is better to communicate voice-to-voice.
And it is not just about communication. Sometimes it is better to walk than to drive. Sometimes it is better to write than to type. Sometimes it is better to make your own sandwich than to buy it from the shop down the road.
It’s OK to do things the way the pioneers did things – or even the cavemen! – and you should always have that option in your arsenal. Because you never know when you’ll be standing on a septic tank with no other option than to light a fire.
And now, to answer the burning question that has had you rooted to your seat all along. Yes, I did come out stinking at the end of the day – but from campfire smoke, not from sewage.
EPILOGUE: The fire did work, and I was able to clear around and even a bit under the three-inch thick lid. But the lid was still stuck from below. So as soon as I submit this article, I’m heading into the snow with…
A blowtorch!
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
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I think it is so wise for those of us in web based businesses to engage in human interaction as much as possible. It is so easy to get stuck in the Matrix and forget about being human. Just the other night while I was eating with some friends at a diner – the waitress told me they had flavored cream for my coffee. I almost told her that I liked her update and followed her profile. It’s getting so embedded in our minds that it’s pouring over into reality. Hashtag tattoos and like button t-shirts.
I need a #hashtag t-shirt. :-)
When I first saw the title, I was thinking, this can’t really be a post about septic tanks. But it was, well sort of.
Actually this summer our septic was backing up. Pool of “stuff” in the front year, was not pleasant. No two tanks here, just one and it sure was not draining. Dug up the cover, lucky it wasn’t frozen. Hired a local septic place to drain it. Lucky, it’s been good ever sense. Escaped a BIG bill. We also put in live bacteria, think that helped as well. I also diverted the water softener and washing machines off the septic tank. They say the water softener pumps like 70 gallons of water every time it runs. No wonder the tank was drowning.
Sorry, little off topic. I just know what your talking about. Sorry you have to do it in the winter.
But, as for your article, you are absolutely correct, it’s very easy to forget real people spend money with us. And yes, it is good to talk voice to voice. I call customers some times and it seems to be a nice touch.
Thanks for the reminder David. :)
Also like the idea of the hashtag# tattoo Brian. My wife keeps bugging me to get one, well… lol
David,
I know the pain, had to replace my mother’s septic tank before we sold it. Took a lot longer and it was a lot bigger then I expected. Yes, technology is great, and we use it daily now as part of our lives, but Brian is right, voice to voice or what I like to say belly to belly is the best by far if that can occur to build relationships that can last a lifetime whether for business or personal reasons.
Great point, Preston. It’s not just about the message; it’s often about the relationships.
David – what a brilliant storyteller you are! I catch myself skimming many articles, but your article here really grabbed me to read all the way through (another skill that almost seems to be lost with the pioneers). It would be helpful if marketers 1) read your article to really “get” what you are suggesting; and 2) understand the value of good old-fashioned quality writing (and storytelling). Great job!
Thank you, Deborah. You make me blush.