My daughter’s boyfriend was at our place and I asked him to help me change my winter tires to summers.
I‘ll be honest…asking for help meant I was hoping he would do most of the work. I do not like mechanical stuff. But I could help! I rolled away each tire as it was removed and brought over its replacement to install.
Upon completion, I congratulated myself on some excellent leadership skills!
Then I drove the car and there was a problem. It wobbled. It shimmied. Just a little at first but as speed increased, the steering wheel was shaking in my hand. What the heckers?
It turns out that you can’t put the wheels on in any order. I failed to notice that each tire had been marked to indicate where it belonged. Sure enough, I had put a front tire on the rear, and vice versa. Even though the tires were the same size, tread wear is not uniform between the front and back. It generates small variations in the tread that create a shimmy as you go faster when tires are mismatched. Left alone, who knows which important pieces that shimmy might have shaken loose while driving.
Here’s THE POINT. I had no idea there was a problem until I started using the tires on the road. I am very tuned in to how a car feels when driving. Every rattle and shake gives you important information about potential problems.
During change we do our best to equip employees with everything they need to be successful. But even for seasoned pros like me, we don’t always get everything right. Like reversing a couple of “identical” tires, we may not realize all of the implications of a seemingly small change.
But employees always know. They feel the shimmy first. They know something isn’t right. But will they tell you?
We must always have our ear to the ground, checking in, asking questions, and monitoring feedback. Don’t dismiss soft cries for help as insignificant. They might just be the signal that saves your project. How are you tuned in to detect a wobble in your change?
Thoughtfully yours,
Jeff Skipper
