Know Where You Need Help

“The things that we’d rather not do, often take up a lot of our precious time because we drag it out either because we’re not exactly sure of how to do it or we just really don’t want to do them.” 

Knowing what you don’t like and what you are not good at is an important step to not only improving your company, but to making your day more rewarding. Entrepreneurs, especially in the beginning, are expected to do everything.

There are areas of the business that we could work at endlessly and never get tired – these parts of the business bring genuine enjoyment, fulfillment and your best ideas. There are other parts of the business that you dislike or even dread. These areas can be as draining and debilitating as others are energizing and enjoyable. Finally, there are parts of the business that need to be done, and while you are capable of the work, you’re just not cut out for it. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs often don’t realize their deficiencies in this area. If the company needs someone to set priorities, develop a sales plan, create an investment package or determine a sales approach, and you have little experience or capability in these areas, your insistence that you take the lead can set the company back. If the bottom line is seeing results, applying a good “college try” can actually hamper the ability of the business to get the resources it needs.

How It Affects You and Your Progress

Both of these activities—the ones you dread and the ones you are no good at—can have two negative lasting effects.

• Drain Your Energy. First, they drain your energy. Entrepreneurs tend to feel overwhelmed when they are working on these activities—much more than when they are working on areas they love.
• They Stunt Progress. Second, they prevent important company functions from getting done. If the company needs to set priorities, and needs you to lead that effort, your lack of skill in a particular area not only exhausts you, but hinders the company when the task is not done well. Wouldn’t the business operate more efficiently if you steered clear of these activities?

Your perspective should be to try to minimize the things you don’t like and things you are not good at from your day:

• Things You Don’t Like. It is usually not hard to convince entrepreneurs to remove things they don’t like from their day. In the beginning, you don’t get to make a choice between likes and dislikes—you must do both. You can, however, change this over time. Identify tasks or focus points that you’d prefer to outsource or delegate, and create a plan to remove them from your day. Being an entrepreneur can be draining, but working on the parts of the business that you don’t enjoy, is often what saps your energy and spirit the most.
• Things You Are Not Good At. Your perspective on critical business issues should be “Getting work done well is more important than who does it.” Ask yourself: What aspects of my business am I good at, and what aspects do I struggle with?

Be candid with yourself. Put your ego aside and acknowledge the things that you don’t do well. Look at it this way. One of the skills of a leader is to understand your strengths and weaknesses and where to supplement your deficits with other’s skills. It is probably relatively easy to be honest about the parts of the business you don’t like. Less so in admitting the parts of the business you struggle with.

The Benefits of a New Perspective

You may not be able to delegate responsibility for all the tasks outside your wheelhouse, especially in the beginning, but simply acknowledging these weaknesses benefits you and your company in many ways:

• Time. First, if you struggle with an area, you waste valuable time on it and do not produce good results. Someone who has worked with a small business accounting package can set up the finances of your business in a few hours. It might take you much longer—and with much more frustration. If you have never raised money before, you’ll discover it’s an adventure, but one that thousands of others have already mastered. Instead of spending your limited time struggling, use it to find someone who specializes in your problem area. This saves valuable energy and an unnecessary expense of time.
• Leadership. Second, when you acknowledge your weaknesses, you send an important message to your team. They see a leader who is candid about his or her strengths and limitations, and demonstrates a willingness to put the business first by reaching out to others for help. It also suggests to your team that you can look at yourself critically and choose the health of the business over your own ego. Leaders who think that they are good at everything, and stubbornly persist in this perspective despite clear evidence to the contrary, strain their credibility with those around them.
• Third Parties. Finally, investors and other third parties look for leaders who understand that, while they may be talented entrepreneurs, their skills need to be complimented with other assets in order to grow the business appropriately.

Identifying where your skills can be supplemented or complemented can quickly accelerate your company’s growth. Once you recognize these areas, you can plan accordingly. Look for a variety of resources whose experience balances yours. Find support from specialists or those with extensive experience in an area you are lacking. Their ease and efficiency will translate into your own effectiveness. Identifying where you need help; being candid with yourself and your constituents is not a weakness, it is a strength. Leaders who recognize their deficiencies and encourage others to do the same, gain respect, solve business issues more efficiently and set the foundation for well-run companies. There’s also a good chance your day will be much more enjoyable.