Feeling unstoppable. (Copy)
Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on November 24th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.
Frustrated?
Consider this: have you got the right people in the right seats?
Many business owners hit glass ceilings. They cannot break £100k revenue, or £1m, £3m or £10m. You know the sentiment.
The solution is always E plus M equals S (entrepreneurship plus management equals success).
Some people grow with you, continually innovating. Others make excuses for why the business is not moving forward.
This is ultimately the responsibility of the business owner.
You may have a pilot steering a boat and an admiral flying a plane.
Two things to ponder here: people in the wrong seats, and whether you even need a plane and a boat.
Models change. Businesses change. We all keep people longer than we should.
Being nice is a tough gig at times.
I spend more time with business owners than most. I understand the entrepreneurial mind. I understand how we think.
Entrepreneurship is fuelled by the energy of management.
Great management creates success.
The entrepreneurial mind is a strange place of wonder. Applied properly it can invent the internet, discover breakthrough medicines, create Costco and Disney, and even deliver driverless cars.
I recognise this in myself. When I am surrounded by positive energy and strong management that understand how I work, we can create wonderful things.
In those explosions of success, they get all of me.
I give all my energy. I will conjure the impossible and move mountains.
As long as I know the possible is being done properly.
If I sense things are average, I have to work harder to muster the magic. If the business is at death’s door, I show up and help pull it back.
A pause for thought: you might be thinking, “I get this, but I do not have the M in the E plus M equals S. You might not have a great M. Welcome to the club. I have some, but not nearly enough.
You must carve out time to find them. They do not knock on the door and announce themselves.
Perhaps Richard Branson and Elon do, but for the rest of us it is a hunt.
This is an important but non urgent task. You should always be recruiting. Find the right Ms and you will quickly discover they make the business money rather than cost it.
Great Ms give Es energy and make the day to day happen.
They lead, manage and hold accountability.
They drive the profit and loss, track the numbers, and make sure your culture is alive. Positive energy keeps you moving towards greatness.
The alternative is existing and retreating, which is where most businesses and people sit.
Existing and retreating looks like this:
• Anaemic results on your P and L
• People stuck in the wrong seats because “some is better than none”
• Excuses for average performance
• Discounting to boost lacklustre sales
(do not forget that discounting is death; it gives a quick hit, a weaker hit the next time, and trains customers to expect it)
• “It is the economy”
• “People do not have money”
Yes, some years the government makes it tough, including this one, but strong businesses still thrive.
Jellycat, for example, increased profits by £105m on £300m of sales this year. Money is out there. People have it, if you offer something great and deliver it well.
If you do not innovate, you evaporate.
When it is difficult, lean in. Use the difficulty. Harness it.
Usually you need a better model. The world continually innovates, so innovate with it.
And make sure your management gives you energy. If they drain you, ask whether they are in the right seat.
They may be fantastic, but you might have over promoted them or put them in the wrong role.
A second pause for thought.
Do not assume that paying people more solves the problem.
From buying and running companies, I can tell you that a big salary does not guarantee big results.
Some of the highest paid people in the country are utterly useless.
Here are two tips for hiring leaders and managers.
1. For new hires, look at this:
Has done…
Have they done it before or something similar? Do they have the required skill set? Can you verify their experience? Perhaps you know of them in the industry.
Can do…
Can they do it in your organisation? Do they have the practical ability? Do they have the capacity, live close enough, fit your culture, and cope with entrepreneurial pace? Or do they need a corporate or government structure?
Will to do…
Have they had a big payout or been out of the game for years? Have they lost the drive? The will is often the most important factor.
2. For existing team members:
Get their role…
Do they understand their job, your vision, your energy, your ideal outcome? Do they know what good and great look like?
Want their role…
Do they truly want their job, or are they waiting for something better? Will they jump ship at the first sign of greener grass? Will they take ownership, accountability and responsibility?
Capacity to do their role…
Some people are built for capacity and can shoulder more responsibility.
in other news, I went to the doctor and said: I feel like a pair of curtains. He said: Pull yourself together.
This week’s quote is one of my favourites:
“What doesn’t get measured doesn’t get managed.”
Losing weight becomes much easier when you track what you eat and weigh yourself regularly. Feeling disappointed often sparks action.
It is the same with the numbers or audits in your business.
If they bother you, the measurement is doing its job because it prompts you to act. Lean into the difficulty. We learn more from our failures than our wins.
To your continued success
James
PS. Marketing Mastery is a one day seminar designed to change that. It is built to help you understand how to attract the right people, get them to buy faster and feel confident in the marketing you are doing. You will leave with practical ideas you can use immediately, not theory or fluff, just what actually works.