My Christmas wish for every small business owner: Stop thinking and acting like a Chief 'Everything' Officer. You should not try to be all things to your business nor do all things in your business. Stop the insanity! That is a sure recipe for exhaustion and burn out.
As your virtual business coach, I wish for you to start thinking like a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and stop thinking like the typical small business owner. We at The Growth Coach hope that Santa brings you a greater vision and a more strategic mindset.
At The Growth Coach, we help all our clients (small business owners, professionals, franchisees, and managers) to think and act like CEOs, not like hands-on, detail-oriented technicians. I want the same for all the readers of this business coaching blog, especially YOU. You and your business will benefit dramatically from this face-reality, tough-love business coaching session...please continue reading.
Ready to start thinking like a CEO? Great to hear. As CEO, you need to work less IN the business and more ON the business: its purpose, direction, strategy, structure, systems, people, goals, and accountability processes. That's what a CEO does. He/she sees the whole business, not just its parts. You too need to have an aerial view to know where you want to go, how to get there, and how to effectively shape your business to achieve your vision.
Put on your CEO hat. Instead of shuffling papers or doing the bookkeeping, decide how to make your company different, better, more profitable and more systems-oriented. Think and act like a business architect. Your ultimate goal is to design and shape a business that serves you and works independently from you... a business that is systems-dependent and not owner-dependent. You want to create a business that runs nearly on autopilot and spits out cash. It should NOT be dependent on you to do everything. You should not be stuck in the technical trenches of the business. Again, stop being the Chief 'Everything' Officer and start thinking like an 'Executive' Officer...a real leader.
As an effective leader, you need to be more strategic, long-term focused and less tactical/technical, day-to-day fixated. If you don't focus on the entire business, no one else will. It will just drift or run aground. So how do you stop thinking and acting like an employee or technician and start thinking like a CEO? Here are three steps to consider seriously:
- First, you should change the metaphor in your head for what it means to be an owner. Regardless of your industry or size of your business, start viewing yourself as a CEO, not an employee. Instead of seeing yourself as a role player, see yourself as a head coach. Effective owners prefer to view themselves as a director, conductor, facilitator, or captain. Regardless, choose a metaphor for what it means to be a leader, not a hands-on doer.
- To help with this mindset transformation, start referring to yourself as CEO. Put it on your business card, stationery, etc. Using the term CEO will force you to see your company as an entity above and beyond yourself, as a separate and valuable asset that needs to be professionally managed and optimized. You are not the business and the business is not you. Spend time and energy helping to build, improve and optimize this asset. For example, focus on how to grow sales, reduce costs, expand your competitive advantages, and increase your value to customers.
- Consider that as CEO, you get paid at least the equivalent of $200 an hour to professionally manage this separate entity and valuable asset - your business. Ask yourself before you touch any task, "Would a CEO do this task?" Or ask, "Is this task worth me doing at a cost of $200 an hour?" Stop doing ten-dollar tasks...you are stealing money from your bottom-line results. Let others in your organization do such tasks. Learn to delegate !! Delegate low-value, low-return tasks to others in the company. Stay elevated at a higher role for reflecting, thinking, planning, and holding others accountable.
Don't forget, to get different results, you must think and act differently. Think and act like a CEO in 2010. Be sure to elevate your vision, thinking and tasks. Stop being an 'Everything' Officer and be more of an 'Executive' Officer. Hope this business coaching session will help you get more out of your business and life. Click here to locate a certified business coach near you.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays. Have a healthy and prosperous 2010.
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America