Foodie Friday, and today we’re going to have a think about what microwave ovens can tell us about our business. I don’t know about you, but I use my microwave all the time. I tend to have a fair amount of leftovers around and it seems that my morning coffee gets cold before I can finish it. Both get a quick warm-up in the microwave. But let’s think for a moment about how a microwave actually works.
A microwave is less of an oven than it is a radio transmitter. The thing heats food by causing water molecules in whatever is being heated to vibrate as it sends out electromagnetic radiation. As they vibrate, the molecules rub against one another and it’s the friction that causes heat. If the thing being hit with the radiation contains no water (glass, ceramic, etc.), there is nothing to vibrate and, therefore, no heat created. That’s why the part of the bowl or plate you’re heating up that’s above/outside the thing being heated stays cool (at least until the heat from the food spreads outward). No friction means no heat.
I like to think of a business that way. A big part of what we want to do as businesspeople is to eliminate friction. We often talk about “frictionless” transactions. Business, after all, is built upon transactions between two parties, usually a buyer and a seller. It takes something – marketing of some sort, generally – to get some momentum going towards the conclusion of the transaction, but once that’s happened our job is to remove any impediments that create friction as the deal moves towards a conclusion. It can be a long line a the checkout, it can be unknowledgeable salespeople, it can be a lack of inventory. In short, we want to keep everyone “dry”, since no water means no friction, right?
Ask yourself what “dampens” your process. Where are the friction points? When the deal microwave is switched on, what begins to vibrate and create the heat that too often accompanies a deal?
Microwave ovens aren’t ideal for all forms of cooking but they excel when they’re used properly. Understanding how they work helps us use them appropriately, and we can take advantage of their speed and efficiency. Applying the “no water, no friction” thinking that makes a microwave work to our businesses can help us do the same thing there.
Consult Keith 