It has been raining pretty significantly for days. I didn’t notice it at first because it was dark and due to the amount of runoff in the hilly areas heading to the storm drains. After days of walking by, something didn’t seem right, so I took a closer look. And there it was – probably a broken pipe at the sprinkler irrigation box with significant quantities of water literally heading down the drain. The house was on the corner – it’s front door and driveway on one street and the leak on the other. It’s a house I walk past daily and is a few miles from home, so I don’t know the people. After knocking on their door and three others, I finally found someone home to alert. It’s likely the people are out of town. A few more days passed and a few calls to the water department, the issue was addressed. But the water keeps flowing. They will be facing a massive water bill and huge amounts of wasted water. Clearly there was no mechanism to alert the city or the people to the problem.
Many businesses face similar issues around leakage. They may arise in areas with low visibility. Without a mechanism to alert you to the issue, it can go unchecked for quite some time, resulting in a big surprise. Other times, it may be noticed, but unresolved because the people don’t have an avenue to resolve it. The challenge is to keep ahead of it and address the root cause before it becomes significant. Do you have warning systems in place that alert you to issues in your business? And if you do, do the people have a mechanism to resolve the issue before it becomes significant?