National Clothesline

It’s hard to step back from a problem, especially when the solution seems to precariously rest on the tip of your tongue, just out of reach. People have a tendency to obsess, focusing all of their mental energy down one avenue, even if it turns out to be a dead-end street. That’s not to say it doesn’t work sometimes. If you analyze a problem and approach it from every possible angle, the logical solution may well present itself. However, there are other times when your mind just can’t seem to realize that it’s trying too hard. The only way to trudge closer to the solution is to step back away from the problem.

The funny thing about a fresh perspective is that you need to ditch the old one first. Letting go is paramount. Thomas Edison, the remarkable American thinker responsible for the incandescent light, the phonograph and countless other patented inventions, knew a few things about success. He once said: “The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus and apply your mental and physical energies to the problem at hand without growing weary.”

Another great quote from him is: “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”

Every success story is different, but it’s safe to say that hard work never caused a person to fail. Of course, even if you spend 99 percent of your time toiling away with blood, sweat and tears, you still require that 1 percent of inspiration. Ironically, the inventor of the light bulb knew that everybody needs an occasional light bulb of their own to go off in their minds to keep moving forward. After all, every fire begins with a spark.

With that in mind, you should really think about slowing down periodically. It’s the summer season and there is no better time to take a vacation or unwind for a long weekend. Collect stamps. Go fishing. Lounge on the beach. Take a hike up a mountain. Enter your prized pet in a cat show… whatever floats your boat or makes your pants dance.

Everybody needs a hobby. Everybody needs to recharge their batteries. If you work hard, then you certainly deserve it. Besides, if you stop looking for the elusive solution momentarily, you are more likely to find it.

Nobody can expect to work long hours day in and day out and never burn out. If you take time off to relax and enjoy some activity — preferably one not related to the industry — then you are giving your mind a chance to reboot. We all need that, especially during those times in our lives when we think that we don’t because a problem needs to be solved.

In his column this month, Stan Caplan says it’s time to get back to drycleaning basics. In some cases there are operators who never had the basics in the first place. They jumped into the business with a fistful of cash (soon gone) and the notion that the machines would do all the work. Then there are others who once had the basics but let them drift away as the day-to-day rush to get the work done led to shortcuts that, over time, became standard operating procedures.

In either case, the result is low quality work. Double-creased trousers. Missing buttons. Whites turned gray. Strange odors emanating from clothes. Spots that won’t go away, or worse, ones that mysteriously appear after “cleaning.” It all adds up to the loss of respect and trust of the consuming public. And it wouldn’t happen if cleaners learned to — or remembered how to — take care of the basics. No amount of marketing razzmatazz, no technological gizmo, no management panacea can cover up the fact that the basics — the things that people go to cleaners for — are missing.

The solution isn’t difficult. If the basics have fallen away, it is not hard to become reacquainted with them. After all, they never really left, they just got put away in a back corner. Renewing that acquaintance is simply a matter of taking the time to do it. In the long run, it will save time — and possibly your business. If the basics were never really in your grasp to begin with, don’t lose another minute before getting a grip on them. It’s going to get harder the longer you wait — unless you wait too long. Then it won’t matter.

Maybe you have had the basics down pat for years and never lost sight of them. That means your business is booming, your customers are happy and your employees are efficient and productive. None of the above applies to you. Congratulations.