Article by Jerry Jendusa
The life of a small business owner ebbs and flows.
It is very difficult getting out of the day to day when so many people, including your customers, key employees, and suppliers all rely on you. With time, you may even develop an adrenaline rush from being the person that can figure things out and make things happen. A traditional firefighting mode sets in.
Something unplanned always happens. A major challenge with delivery, a product failure or a key account leaves. Perhaps a key employee that you cannot live without decides that your place is no longer for them.
As the owner or leader, you could be dragged into these situations by necessity. Your staff looks to you to step in. After all, this is your baby and you are the one that is supposed to make it right. This can lead to becoming stuck in a current business state. The only way the business can grow is by working harder and longer and with brute force.
Business consultants and coaches will talk about working on your business vs. in your business. This is much easier said than done. You may decide to bring in a president in the effort of getting away from the business, but once again, when things aren’t going right, you may decide to parachute in and save the day.
How can this paradigm change?
First, define why you want to work on your business instead of in it.
You may want to develop your employees. Perhaps you want to sell the company and wish to be seen as less valuable. You may want to work yourself out of a certain role so you actually can manage from the beach.
If you want to work on your business instead of in it, you may need to look to your employees for help.
With the right people and a process that you believe in, they, in fact, can grow the business. Check in with them. What did they do in the last week, month, or quarter? What are their plans for the future?
Let your employees manage and own the process. If you don’t feel they’re ready, set SMART Goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-activated) with them. Use these goals to close that gap and check the progress regularly.
By empowering your staff and holding them accountable, you actually gain more control by relinquishing some. This approach allows your team to feel truly engaged, trusted, and empowered.
When you review with your employees, you may find your business starting to grow through them. By changing the paradigm through your actions, less time is spent firefighting and more is spent working on the business. You will feel like you have your life back vs. being all consumed by your plight in life of running the company.
Manage Remotely
Our Growthpath Operating System helps you lead the efforts without managing the day to day.
You can easily check on their progress remotely, whether you are at home or at the beach, on our cloud-based software. You make sure that your employees are accountable, visiting key customers, and working on what was agreed to.
To achieve the plan, capture their action items as BREAKTHRU Initiatives, and you’ll see how the progress is tracking in the areas of your business including customers, innovation, productivity and your people/culture. Naturally, you will also be checking the business’ financial health.
You see, there truly are ways where you can manage from the beach.
Contact us to learn more about and see how your business’ processes can be streamlined so you can manage from the beach.
