Imagine a ship's hull. How would you describe it?

Most would use adjectives such as sharp, smooth, or Rounded... Unless of course, you have barnacles.

What are Barnacles?

As the definition explains, a barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters.

[Um, what?]

For anyone who's not a marine biologist, barnacles are hard-shelled sea creatures that affix themselves to marine surfaces.

You'll most commonly find barnacles when looking at the submerged portion of a dock's pilings - and in this location, they really don't present much of a problem, if any.

When Do Barnacles Become a Problem?

Barnacles do become more of an issue when they are left to form on the hull of your boat, as large barnacle colonies cause ships to drag and burn more fuel, leading to significant economic and environmental costs.

Barnacles keep your ship from maintaining the aerodynamic qualities that the ship's builder originally intended.

"Barnacles" in Business

As business leaders, we often refer to our organizations as "ships", and just as the cases above outline for actual sea vessels, barnacles, if left to form on your business ship are equally as detrimental.

This week marks the half-way point in the year. It's a time to reflect on how far we've come, but also, what is holding your business back (the "barnacles") from moving as swiftly and efficiently through the water as we could.

Business "barnacles" could be team members that are a drain on your organization, processes needing improvement, or anything else that slows you down while costing you money.

It's Time to Scrape the Barnacles

Like a ship, our businesses require maintenance and upkeep.

Use this half-way point, and this email, as a reminder to take a good look at your hull, even if it means getting wet, and make sure there's no unwanted crustaceans holding on and slowing you down.

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Thank you for reading and make it a great week!