If I am going to build my company into what it truly can be, I need to work on structure, managing, taking on more difficult tasks: creating reports, thinking instead of reacting, being more proactive than reactive. That seems a lot different from what my current day-to-day is like. How do I make the transition?
Thoughts of the Day: Build a business after entrepreneurship is a 180 degree switch. You’ll need to learn and practice a new set of skills, very different from the muscles you’ve built up to now. Along the way, difficulties will pop up that will pull you back to the old skill set – you’ll have to resist the temptation. Knowing where you plan to take the company will help you to maintain focus.
Build a business after entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurs who successfully get their businesses off the ground have some basic, innate skills. They are doers. Ready to step in at any time to handle any challenge. A broad set of shoulders on which to carry the full weight of the business. Risk takers. Opportunists. Multi-taskers. Without these basic traits, business owners fail before the business is even off the ground.
Once the business is up and running, the skills of the owner that got the business started become the business’ greatest limiters. Rushing in to take over when things go wrong can cause employees to sit back and wait. Seizing opportunities only the owner can see means the people inside the business have difficulty following the owner’s lead. Serious risks don’t pan out and the business ends up in jeopardy, time after time. Belief in self-worth and ability to rescue any situation turns into a business fraught with cycles of ups and downs, making less progress than possible at a higher cost than necessary.
Many people wonder if a person can learn a new set of skills. Can a leopard change its spots? The answer is a qualified, “yes”. It takes significant commitment and drive to build a new skill set.
Re-entering the workforce
Business builders, also known as Stage Two business owners, have learned how to temper their ambition. They know how to control their risk taking. They can hold back when they’re itching to get into the middle of things. They value the contributions of others. And they know how to encourage, educate, acknowledge, reward and hold people accountable.
It takes teams of people, all ready, willing and able to step up, to build a thriving business. The owner’s job shifts from solving problems to teaching others how to do that. Teams build confidence and competence when the owner learns to step back, let others take risks, clean up their messes and celebrate their wins.
When things go wrong, be aware that instinct will cause you to revert to old, tried and true methods of coping. Unfortunately, working to build a team, and then turning into a dictator when problems crop up doesn’t encourage people around you to be problem solvers.
If you feel frustrated, take a walk around the block, go work out, punch a punching bag, before you step in and do something unproductive like yelling at your people or telling them what to do. Get rid of the fight or flight instinct.
If people create problems, whatever you do, don’t rescue them. Hold them accountable by making them clean up their own messes. If you’re not sure they can do that, teach them how, and ask them to explain their next steps.
Entrepreneurship to employee
Don’t get shy away at the word “plan”. Plans come in all kinds of forms: goals, objectives, KPI’s, job descriptions, writing vision and mission statements. What tools do you use to define where your company is going, and to help others join along? Build a written set of tools that you and your employees can refer to, to know where the company is going and whether or not it has arrived.
Many owners hesitate to share the numbers, fearing that employees will want in on the rewards when things turn up, or get scared off when things turn down. Teaching employees how to read and react to the numbers can make all the difference when you’re trying to build and align teams. Make sure your employees understand all the demands on profits: paying taxes, investing in infrastructure, building up cash reserves, recognizing extra ordinary performance, paying out bonuses and benefits, and yes, rewarding shareholders for the risks they take. Help people to understand that as the company produces more wealth, everyone wins.
Looking for a good book? Delegating for Results; Manager’s Toolkit Book 2, by Kenneth Wason.
