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Portrait of a Dysfunctional Business Owner ‐ Do you Recognize Yourself? Summary/Description We all believe that we run our businesses effectively. Have you ever questioned the way you do things and wondered ‐ why on earth do I do that? Maybe you can only spot these oddities in other people. Here is a list of a dozen hare‐brained things that business owners often do. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ A dozen hare‐brained things that business owners often do 1. Running after every bouncing ball 2. Hiring people just like them 3. Spending all their time watching over the shoulders of staff 4. Losing sight of the big picture due to focusing on minutiae 5. Trying to do everything themselves 6. Making decisions on instinct alone 7. Failing to plan for the future 8. Spending working capital on fixed assets 9. Assuming they have all the answers 10. Bringing in family members to hold key positions in the business 11. Frequently changing direction of the business 12. Giving mixed messages to staff One of the tenets of good business management has always been to stick to the knitting. In other words, find out what you are really good at and concentrate on doing that supremely well. There are an extraordinary number of business owners that could be compared to the dog, in the fable about the dog with the bone. They may have a solid business but they spot something else which is more glamorous and they divert resources into that. Many do it again and again in pursuit of the illusive pot of gold and only succeed in damaging their core business. It seems obvious that you should always hire the best person for any job you are trying to fill. However, many business owners do not use objective scoring methods during interviews, which should deliver the best qualified person for the job based on their comparative score. Instead, they focus on gut instinct and make decisions based on seeing traits in individuals which are part of their own make up. Results are usually disastrous. Of all the sins a business owner may commit, one of the worst is to spend his or her time directing individuals in how they should be doing their job. Most people respond positively to autonomy and will generally do a far better job if they are not being constantly watched and undermined by the boss. This can be compounded by the boss losing sight of the big picture because he/she is so far down in the trenches.
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As a business grows, it becomes impossible for business owners to do everything themselves. Unless they learn to delegate, particularly low level tasks, they will become swamped. They need to focus on high value activities that significantly benefit the business and delegate everything else to their colleagues. When a business is new and in the early stages of development, the owner commonly makes many gut decisions. Some work out fine but as a business becomes more complex and the stakes get higher, it is vitally important that the owner gathers together all the information available and then objectively assesses what the correct decision might be. He should seek advice from colleagues and consider all of the risk factors before making a final determination for all key decisions. It is very common for many businesses to drift along without a well thought out business plan. This is almost as ludicrous as trying to navigate your way around the world without bringing a map along. A business plan is your road map for your business. It may be very tempting to purchase a piece of machinery, a vehicle, a building or even another business when you have a healthy balance sitting in your business bank account. This is something you should never contemplate. An asset needs to be financed over its useful working life, not bought for cash. I have worked with many owners and managers in large and small business over my working life and the echo of them saying that they are the boss and that they are always right brings a shudder to my spine. Nobody has all the answers and pride comes before a fall. Many entrepreneurial businesses are family owned and run. However, it is a tremendous mistake to place a family member in a key role simply because they are family. If they do not have the skill set for the role you need to fill, then get in a professional to do the job. Frequently changing the direction of the business is similar to running after every hopping ball. If you have a clear business plan, you are less likely to engage in this dysfunctional behavior. Finish what you start and only make mirror course adjustments as your journey progresses. Managing people can be more art than craft. It is important that you set clear direction for colleagues and subordinates and that you periodically review performance with them on a one‐to‐one basis. Try to resist the temptation to send them racing off in one direction today, another tomorrow and a totally different direction next week. This only leads to confusion and sub‐par performance and it can be detrimental to the business. BIO Resource Box Niall Strickland is an MBA with more than 20 years of business coaching and management consulting experience working with CEO’s in small and medium businesses. He can provide additional information about common business issues and how to resolve them at www.NiallStrickland.com. This article has also been published on www.EzineArticles.com
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