My husband called the plumber. Unfortunately, he did it only after putting off a minor repair for months and then spending a good chunk of the day grunting, sweating, agonizing, and making multiple trips up and down the stairs in search of tools we don’t own.

Not only did he not save a dime, he lost a day, and was miserable. Luckily, a couple of hours of phone calls produced a plumber able to come that same day, otherwise the suffering would have been considerably longer, and not limited to my husband!

There is a lesson here that some people never seem to learn! And when those people run organizations, the pain and ultimate expense is always bigger than one person and a handful of hours.

Instead of getting expert help, too many slog along, making little or no progress. Meanwhile, the entire organization suffers.

The problem may be small and well-defined or it may be broad and harder to understand. Things like leaders who can’t lead or don’t know where they are going, managers who don’t know how to manage, too many priorities, meetings that accomplish little, confusion that erodes productivity and employee satisfaction,or improvement efforts driven by fads or the latest customer complaint.

So when should you call the plumber or enlist other resources? The answer is pretty simple. Do it yourself only if one of these two conditions exists:

• It falls within your expertise,
• You have the tools on hand, and
• Your time isn’t required for more important priorities

OR

• There is a very good reason for you to develop the requisite skills and obtain the necessary tools, and
• You can live with the risks, whether they involve delays, extra expenses, lost opportunities, stress, or floods

Be honest about existing problems. Figure out which deserve attention and put the best possible resources on those that can make a significant difference.