One of my treasured passtimes on a Sunday afternoon is to settle down to watch F1 Grand Prix racing. Yes I have my favoured teams and drivers, I enjoy seeing the scenery of the differing tracks around the world, and a bit of people watching is also fun, however I also marvel about how many business lessons there are to be learned.
For example, I have learned never to overlook the pit guy.
The pit crew consists of 21 guys:
- The lollipop man who releases the driver back into the traffic.
- Four tyre changers who operate the pneumatic wrench to release and reinstall the lug nuts.
- Eight tyre carriers, four to bring the new tyres and four to take the old tyres.
- Two stabilisers who support the car on each side in the middle.
- Two front wing men to adjust the front wing angle.
- Two jack men one front one rear who lift the car to permit tyre changing.
- The fire extinguisher man – just in case of accidental fires.
- The starter man with a starter tool just in case the driver stalls the car.
21 guys all immaculately turned out, and all vital to the overall performance of the team.
Not one of these men will actually take credit for single handedly winning a race, however an accidental slip up by any one of them can certainly lose the race; a lose lug nut and the tyre could fall off; an unsafe release could incur a drive through penalty; a misaligned front wing will hamper drive performance. These teams have planned and rehearsed the roles of the pit crews to the minutest detail and their reward is being able to pit a car in approximately 2.4 seconds. These guys knows their role may not be major but it is important.
Who are the “pit guys” in your business?
What can you do to help them improve their performance?
What can you do to help them eliminate accidental mistakes?
Do your “pit guys” know how important they are to you?