What’s your trigger for action?

What’s your strategy for refuelling your car? Or more precisely, what’s your trigger for action?

• Seeing the fuel indicator get to 1/4 full?
• Maybe it's reframing the dial and seeing that it's 3/4 empty?
• Hearing the alarm tell you the tank is nearly empty?
• When you notice a cheap price?
• When you pass your favourite petrol station (for a while I frequented one with a M&S food shop on site). Are you aware of the decision-making criteria that you're using to support this trigger?
• Lowest price?
• Lowest total lifetime cost?
• Retain maximum resale value for the car?
• Managing cashflow?
• Engine friendly?
• Minimising disruption to your day?
• Efficient use of time?

Criteria that each result in a very different trigger for refuelling.

I’ve also resisted refuelling the car and my strategy has been the sound of the indicator telling me I have x miles ‘til I run out! Little did I know, whilst using this example on a supplier management workshop, that in addition to helping expand delegates’ thinking about the triggers suppliers might have for taking action to avoid problems, it would help me solve my own resistance to refuelling.

Understanding the decision-making criteria and arising trigger people use for action can be a very useful tool for problem solving.