Over the Christmas break, I decided to take the family to visit our national capital, Canberra. While there, we visited Parliament House, which you'll be pleased to know is free, and you can spend as much time there as you like doing a self-guided tour.
Guided Tours
The other option is to pay $28 per person for a small group guided tour, which is precisely what we decided to do.
With the guided tour, you don't get to see where the bodies are buried or necessarily get access to any secret rooms that the general public doesn't get access to; however, what you do get is an informative guide who shares a lot more information that is not written in any brochure, and you also get some behind the scenes, real-life stories that bring Parliament House to life.
Guided tours work the same as business coaching and mentoring work; a business owner can do it alone at their own pace or get some guidance to speed up and expand the learning process and final result.
The Parliamentary Clocks
There are 2700 identical clocks throughout Parliament House, and no matter where you are standing; you will see one. They are everywhere.
On each clock, there are two small square lights. The light on the righthand side, between the numbers 4 and 5, flashes green, and the other light on the left-hand side, between the numbers 7 and 8, flashes red when the members of parliament are called to chambers.
The green light is for the House of Representatives (Lower House), and the red light is for the Senate (Upper House).
Two Reasons for Flashing Lights
When the lights flash, a loud bell will also ring through loudspeakers, which can be heard no matter where you are in Parliament House. There are two specific times when this occurs.
Firstly, the bell will ring for 5-minutes at the start of each session for both the House of Representatives and Senate, and our guide pointed out that not all members need to be in attendance at each session as the majority of decisions being made in parliament have already been agreed upon between the parties beforehand.
Counted Vote
However, now and then, someone will throw a spanner in the works by not agreeing, and if this happens, a counted vote must occur. When a counted vote is called, the bell will ring through the loudspeakers, and the green or red light will start flashing.
When this happens, every House of Representatives or Senate member must attend chambers, and they have precisely 4-minutes to get there before the doors are locked, and the votes are cast and counted.
It doesn't matter where the politicians are in Parliament House or what they are doing (haircut, eating, on a phone call, gym, bathroom); they must stop immediately and get to the chambers before the doors are locked.
You Cannot Be Late
Lateness is not tolerated, and even if they are one second late, that is too bad; the doors are locked, and they cannot enter, regardless of their excuse.
As our guide explained, everyone is aware of the rules, and it does not look good if they get locked out of the chamber, especially if it is a crucial vote.
How Does This Relate to Your Team?
Parliament has stringent rules when a counted vote comes into play, and everyone knows the consequences if you do not attend or are late.
One of the biggest complaints I've heard from business owners is that they feel a lot of time is wasted at team meetings. It's not just because some team members choose not to participate, which also happens in parliament, but it's more to do with them arriving late, and therefore time is wasted right from the get-go.
Starting a meeting this way becomes frustrating for everyone, not just the business owner, but also for the team members who did make an effort to arrive on time.
Be Strict
Now, I'm not suggesting you buy yourself a Parliament House Clock for your business, even though it would be a great conversation piece, but I am suggesting that you start enforcing strict starting times for your meetings.
And a strict starting time does not mean arriving on time and spending the next five minutes making a coffee.
You Get What You Tolerate
If you're a regular listener of the Podiatry Legends Podcast, you would have heard me say on numerous occasions; YOU GET WHAT YOU TOLERATE, and if you're registered for my next 12-Week Podiatry Business Reboot, you will hear me say it over and over again.
Understanding you get what you tolerate is essential to business and why it's in the 12-week program.
You will always get exactly what you tolerate and nothing more.
If you do not immediately reprimand team members for arriving late to meetings, you're telling them and everyone else that it's okay.
Eventually, you will find no one turns up on time, even the team members that used to turn up early, resulting in meetings starting later and later.
At this point, some business owners think team meetings are a waste of time, and weekly meetings turn into meetings every two weeks, then monthly and eventually none at all.
Repercussions
Why are politicians only given four minutes to get to chambers for a counted vote? It's because if they gave them longer, they would take longer; it's human nature.
Also, why do they lock the doors?
Locking the doors is punishment for arriving late, and it lets the politician know, and everyone else who did arrive on time, that they stuffed up. For the politician, this could be embarrassing.
There could also be career repercussions, especially if it happened more than once.
Create A Happier Team
As a business owner, you should consider adopting this Parliament House Clock idea for your podiatry business. Start developing strict rules and consequences for not arriving on time.
Remember, you get what you tolerate, so do not tolerate weak excuses.
And, if you've given up on team meetings because you thought it was a waste of time, make an effort to get them back on your schedule because podiatry businesses that have regular, well-run team meetings usually have a far happier work environment and happier team.
If you have any questions about this blog, please email me at . And if you're looking for a Business Coach who thinks differently and has a proven track record of helping podiatrists succeed, get in contact with me and let's see if we're a good fit.
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