A week and a half ago my son, Taige, and I anxiously arrived at his first Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. As you may already know, a Pinewood Derby is essentially an opportunity for dads (oops, I mean... boys) to create a car, or any other creative masterpiece, from a small block of pine wood. The finished creations then race each other down a 30' length of track fueled only by gravity as they rush toward the finish line on free spinning plastic wheels attached by soft metal nail "axles."
Besides a last minute major paint malfunction, (who knew paint would bubble instead of quick-dry in a 400 degree oven?!?!) Taige and I were optimistic about his car's chances of setting a new land speed record. You see, since this was my fourth Pinewood Derby as a dad (only 14 to go!!), I'd caught on to some of the tricks of the trade the other dads had utilized to make their son's cars fly down the track (and leave my other son's cars in the dust in years past...).
Specifically, I'd become aware that the location of the weights on the car really has little to do with the speed (a debate that's been raging for decades). It also doesn't matter how glossy the paint is (air resistance is a non-issue!). What really makes the difference is how little friction there is between the inside of the plastic wheel and the metal nail axle.
The nail itself has some manufacturing flaws, little metal burrs, right at the area of contact between the inside of the plastic wheel and the nail. Once those burrs are removed and the nail is buffed and polished the car speeds down the track much more easily.
So, Taige and I were prepared! We'd used a Dremmel tool to remove the problem spots on the nails and then sanded, buffed and polished the nails carefully for about 20-30 minutes. We were confident his car would place in the top 5 or so - despite it's unfortunate appearance... After all, how could we fail with the all the effort we'd put in?!?!
Well... After a couple of 2nd place finishes in the first few heats (and some others a littler further back than that...) I started talking to some of the other dads to figure out why some of the other cars, and one in particular, were going so much faster than ours. I was sure someone was using an illegal lubricant of some kind! I was wrong...
I finally discovered what the difference was - especially for the one car that seemed to just cream everyone elses. The grandfather of that particular Cub Scout had taken it upon himself to make sure there was as little friction as humanly possible with his grandson's wheel/axle contact. He'd literrally spent FIVE HOURS sanding, buffing and polishing those nails. He wanted to be SURE his grandson's car won. (and it did - over an over and over again!)
That was the secret! I'd smuggly thought Taige and I were doing really well with 20 minutes of work on those axles. (hey, that's 20 minutes more than I'd ever spent on that before!!) However, I was completely caught flat-footed by the granfather who not only put in extra effort, he put in the effort required to excel. I'd merely gotten started on it compared with his time and attention to detail.
This is a great analogy. As it relates to your real estate business, what are you doing to excel? What procedures/systems and skills set you apart from the rest of the agents out there? Are you willing to put in the time necessary to learn and know your sales presentation flawlessly? Do you use social media to your advantage? Do your clients experience something different and well above average when they work with you? How bad do you want to win your real estate business "Pinewood Derby?" Bad enough to be the best?
Your Partner in Greater Success,
Bill Zimmerman
939-0002
P.S. - Here's the latest "Talking Points of Interest" video on current rates and market conditions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9J34lJmaxg Enjoy!
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