Business owner or CEO - Transforming
"Going from skilled at the craft your business delivers to skilled at running your business"
So many business owners started because they were good at something someone wanted or needed to buy. Technologists, electricians, washing cars, milling machinery, making clothing, etc. The issue many entrepreneurs have is that they remain excellent at the delivery of that product or service, but fail to learn how to run their businesses in way that optimizes how that business runs. It's a completely different set of skills. More importantly, it's a different mindset.
If you struggle, or know someone who struggles with "staying in the weeds", there are some techniques you can use to help both identify and change your behavior. It will take time, won't be easy, and there will be relapses.
When I was running my business I used to call my dad (who also had run his own business in his day). One day I asked him "Dad, were you always really stressed out when you were running your business?" His answer: "No, but the people around me were". He always answered my questions in this same way - giving me the answer, but making me think about it a little. It was direct, and not really right for the times we live in now, but the point was simple: Hire and delegate to people who can take on the workload and make them responsible.
Trust other people in your organization to solve problems on their own. They will be happier and so will you. If you don't feel like you have people you can trust, then you either have the wrong people or you have done a poor job (to this point) explaining what’s needed, training them on doing it the way you want, or managing expectations. Remember the phrase: I trust you to solve this problem.
Know your numbers / monthly business reviews. One of the biggest single factors that got me out of the weeds was forcing myself to look at the entire company every month from 30,000 feet. It causes your brain to think differently, look at different areas, and realize that #1 and #2 above are critical in keeping those areas looked after. Different people in your organization are accountable for their numbers/objectives See my deeper article HERE
Accountability Chart. This comes straight from business books, but is very effective. Take some time to identify the vital operational / functional areas of your business and put names (only one) in each area. You can ask people to be accountable for multiple areas, but can't have multiple people accountable for the same function. Ask yourself if you have the right people, training, and expectations for those. If not, it will be hard for you to get out of the weeds.
Take breaks. REALLY, take breaks. Go get a coffee, go for a walk. Turn your brain off on whatever activity and hit the reset button. Do you know why your best ideas come in the shower? Because there's nothing else buzzing, beeping, calling, and distracting your brain. You can't actively work on something from the shower. I promise you if you shut it down, and allow more creative thoughts, your mind will start getting strategic and think about some really powerful and higher level ideas that will help your business. You will also learn that everything doesn't fall apart when you leave. Remember, you have to plan for this and make sure #1/#2/#4 have had some work put in. You don't abandon a situation when you've built a culture around your expertise - it takes time to transition.
I have a bunch more, but the main point is to remember you need to actively work at this concept of working ON your business instead of IN your business. The goal is to put people in place that essentially perform all the major job functions so you aren't required to be there all the time. These tend to be much more successful businesses, happier owners, and much more valuable when it comes time to sell them.
If you want to chat more, please reach out to me.
-Ryan
