301 - Tradies, Don't Rely on Your Memory!

301 - Tradies, Don't Rely on Your Memory!

From Toolbox Talk by Jon Dale

February 24, 2026 · 12 min

About this episode

Jon Dale discusses the importance of not relying on memory in business and emphasizes the need for systems and documentation.

Hi Tradies, memory isn’t that great. You can’t rely on it.If you want a successful business that gives you more money, time and freedom, you need to act more like a businessperson and less like a tradie.And that means not relying on fallible memory — yours, and everyone else’s: customers, staff, suppliers and partners.I see a lot of things done on handshakes and verbal agreements. Instructions, arrangements, agreements. This creates problems, of course - different recollections of what was said or agreed: forgetting to do things or not doing them properly.The answer, as usual, is systems and writing things down.I’ll tell you a quick story. I once shared a memory about a friend, Ted, who I thought had done a week in jail over a dispute with a client. His wife later told me it wasn’t true. He got in trouble, but he didn’t do time. My memory was close — but wrong.That’s how memory works. Yours is the same. So is everyone else’s.Here’s where your memory can cause problems in your business.1 Your Tasks. Many of you don’t write things down. You trust yourself to remember. You need a system — a diary, phone notes, Outlook, Gmail, and voice notes to your admin. Pick one and use it.Your…

People in this episode

Host: Jon Dale

Topics covered

  • memory
  • business systems
  • tradies
  • agreements
  • task management
  • appointments

Keywords

  • memory
  • business
  • tradies
  • systems
  • documentation
  • appointments
  • agreements

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