The band-aid solution is a temporary ‘stop gap’ solution. A band-aid is a very useful dressing for a small cut or abrasion but it has obvious limitations for more serious injuries.
The attraction of the band-aid solution is that it is fast and gets you past the initial crisis.
The downside is that it presents your business as one that is willing to take short cuts and if they are used long term it presents your business as one that is struggling financially.
When I was an instructor I worked for one not-for-profit that, when it rained, the staff had to scramble for buckets and towels to place under leaks in the roof. If it rained persistently hard for 10 – 15 minutes water would leak from behind power points in the bath rooms.
It had obviously been that way for some time if the water damage and well drilled emergency response from staff were anything to go by.
That business was struggling financially but even so it is difficult to justify increases in your membership price when your roof leaks, your carpets are stained from water damage and if an unfortunate member happens to be using a hairdryer during the next down pour they are likely to become the proud owner of a permanent afro.
It is odd that management had such ‘big’ ideas about how to improve the business but none of them included fixing the leaking roof – despite all the potential dangers it presented.
Five Rules for Band-aid Solutions:
- Band-aid solutions are for temporary problems only. Band-aids have a short lifespan; a band-aid solution that is relied upon long-term demonstrates inertia, indifference and/or incompetence.
- Band-aid solutions are for minor problems only. If you went to your doctor with a gun shot wound and he put a band-aid on it you’d be justified in assuming that he didn’t know what he was doing. Your customers think the same way when they see band-aid solutions in your business.
- Band-aid solutions should only be used infrequently. The more often your customers see band-aid solutions, even if minor and temporary, the more likely it is that they will form a negative view of your business.
- Band-aid solutions are always imperfect and always result in lower productivity. Productivity losses will tend to compound over time and will, invariably, infect other parts of your business.
- People make terrible band-aids. It is tempting to take that untrained, inexperienced, ill-suited staff member and slot him or her into an unfamiliar role just because you are short. It does them no favours and it does your business no favours.
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