It happens far too frequently when we look at a small business; the owner is doing everything. The owner is often the person attempting to drive the company forward, yet is more often than not the same person who is holding the company back. Let’s look at a classic case. No names have been changed to protect the innocent because everyone in business is guilty of this situation. Bobs Widgets has annual gross revenues of about $525,000. They are growing and their target for 2010 is $750,000; an aggressive plan but completely within reason based on past performance. They have 3 full time staff members including the owner Bob himself. Bob has a vision for this year and is truly motivated to achieve his goal. However, when you talk to Bob about what his role is specifically within the organization you get the following answer- “well I wear many hats.” Bob continues “I answer the phones, make sales calls, design the new products, try to manage the other two staff people I have, and manage the books.” Bobs answer is a classic response and is the foundation of what we call The Hero Trap. Little does Bob know that unless he demotes himself from the “guy who does everything” that $750,000 goal is never going to happen. You see, to have healthy and sustainable growth within a company the owner/president cannot do everything and neither can any individual staff member. You cannot be the person who is driving sales while attempting to handle customer relations management as well as the person who is doing all the invoicing, working with vendors, managing payroll for which we recommend this blog post about how to outsource the payroll, etc. This type of environment will create dysfunction and will not allow the company to grow in a healthy and sustainable way. If you are in this situation you may want to know how to get out of it? If you are not in this situation, you may be asking how to avoid it? Warren Buffett had the right idea when he said “The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.” It only takes you deeper. The best thing to do is assess your strengths, admit your weaknesses and demote yourself. Stop doing the things that distract you from that which does not move the company forward with the greatest value. Bring in people who have strengths where you are weak, this does not mean hire staff, and get a plan. Developing a plan is required to focus the company in the right direction and get it on the path towards managed growth.
To find out more on this and other principles to manage your business with greater effectiveness, contact Talan today for your FREE BIZstrength Profile.