Patient leadership is one of the skills that can fix a multitude of problems. One of my trucks needed some repair so I called the local mechanic and he said that he could fix it in one day and it would cost around $500.00. Oh, if you want to know what the Lord said. He said, “If you are patient I will help you.” So, I had the spirit of patient leadership to guide me through this ordeal. While the price sounded reasonable I wondered if I could do it myself for a little cheaper and have it back on the road in a couple of hours. I called a couple of friends that had experience doing this sort of job and they advised me that it was fairly straight forward if I knew what I was doing. So I checked on the internet for the price of the part, it was listed around $375.00. This price seemed high so I called some used car parts dealers, there was one available for $100.00. Now we were in the ballpark of where I wanted to be, I had to tap into my patient leadership to even find the part. After driving to the place and arriving back at the house with the used part, I realized I needed a specialized puller to remove a piece. Here I go back to the store. Oh I remember to try this used part first. So now I must remove the original part and try the replacement part. It is not the exact part. Now I call the big box auto parts store and get a refurbished one with a guarantee for $160.00 and a core charge of $125.00. I put this one on and it leaks everywhere which I discovered around 9:30 PM. It is night and I am tired. The next morning I go to a different parts store but, I must clean and return the other part. I have a new part from a new store, and the old broken part, and the part from the used store. The bolts from the old part need replacing also, and I have to find a store that has them. I put everything back in place and it works fine. The relief comes over me and it has taken 24 hours to complete. After returning all the unused parts the cost was around $200.00 but at one point I had nearly $500 in cash floating around. Here’s what I learned from this decision.

1. If you are not a mechanic do not play one in life.
Although you may possess many talents, some talents are better left to others. Many entrepreneurs have to wear an array of hats during the course of the day but smart ones know how to buy time by using qualified others. This is a warning of patient leadership that I did not show. I had all the tools and skills to complete this job, except for one pitman arm puller. This still did not qualify me to efficiently complete this job. Hire a qualified industry leader so that you can stay focused on your main business skills.

2. The internet does not always display the best price
This is not just a knock on the internet but a knock on the whole “Do it yourself” marketplace. The marketing teams at these companies present scenarios that seem to be easier and more satisfying than allowing the experts to handle it for you. A leader knows the best price is the one that factors in all the variables. Patient leadership thinks of all the possibilities and makes decisions on the entire project not just on narrow parameters like money.

3. Know what your time is worth
The professions where time is billable and can be quantified make it easy to state how much your time and skills are worth. In other professions with soft skills and variable earning potential it can be more difficult. In any case it is wise to have a working number to tabulate your worth, especially when you perform tasks not essential to furthering your cause. In my case I could have generated far more revenue by ignoring my soft skills and being a patient leader in my main business. The other factor which cannot be calculated is the lost time with friends and family. I cancelled a school trip with my son to work on this vehicle. Although I made it up with a camping trip I cannot get the day we lost together back.

How have your skills helped or hurt your Patient Leadership ability?