Attempting To Be Jack of all trades

I know you’ll say when you begin in business, you don’t pick and choose clients. You simply accept everything that comes your way. No picking and choosing, no delays. You jump as soon as they blink. You try to impress, delight, deliver and often go way beyond expectancies. Seldom you are equitably compensated…But this is what I am teaching you, this you must avoid by all means. This is easily curable, you must set your standards upfront so that everybody you do business with know what to expect in return, their obligations and your big promise.

Don’t try to be everything to everybody, “professional for all occasions”, “know-it-all serial advisor”, “chronic promiser” and underachiever. This is not the way to build your dream business. Again, focusing is the Key. By all means, expand when you can but not earlier than that. Planned development and expansion, building on what you already have, connecting the dots, synergising… You have an idea.

Late Steve Jobs said that the key to success is really:

Saying NO to a thousand things…

Not to mention that by doing so your business communicates a strong value statement and builds a brand around your uniqueness and specialisation. Less is always more; remember it. Less is More…

Not Getting Help Soon Enough

People don’t perform for various reasons, but the two major ones are lack of awareness and competence. Put it this way: we don’t do things we don’t know. If you are unaware of something, you can’t act in your best interest.

Things will slip through your attention radar and not alert your alarm system. If you do not know this is a critical ingredient, how can you act and focus on it? And guess, when you do the same things day in and day out, they multiply and grow like a chronic and silent disease while diminishing chances to make it happen. Once you find out, it may be already late.

The second one is more about learning. You see, there is a pain, and you are aware of it, but simply can’t act on it because you don’t know how. Frustrations, dissatisfaction and slow progress are likely states.

Don’t do it on your own when someone around you can do it better. Don’t be everything to your company that you are probably not. Trust me on this: in this case, faster is better, and you can do it faster when you do it with somebody.

The buck or two saved here and there is only on paper. Ask yourself, have you really saved it? Have you acted in your best interest? Have you spent your limited resources wisely, and will your actions and/or inactions cause more harm than they cause benefits?

You must stack to the winning odds by positioning yourself and everything around you so your chances of winning in life and business are the greatest.

Unwillingness to Embrace Uncertainty

Certainty is entrepreneurial desire. We want to be safe. We want to be sure. We want guarantees…and we will do anything to get it. However, one is hard to obtain and cannot be guaranteed. That is the whole truth. Guarantees don’t exist. No one can guarantee results these days. Everything is moving and ever-changing. What was working yesterday today is probably obsolete and may be irrelevant.

Acceptance creates freedom to do what is right when you think it is right and how you think it is right. In every business, there is a line, a fine line of uncertainty, a super-secure line of the comfort zone. Place within, we feel safe, unchallenged and certain.

To do big things, businesses must cross this fine line many times. To do what is not easy, to roll up their sleeves, to feel challenged and to be way out of what was once a safe and predictable environment. They must embrace uncertainty and reinvent themselves all over again.

Ineffective & Inefficient Decision-Making Process

More often than not, business should be viewed as a military command system and embrace its organisation. There is a command hierarchy that is clear to everybody. You may say he did cross it now, he went over the line or he talks BS. But here it is what I say. We need heroes, and we need great commanders. We always need those who challenge the status quo, believe in better ways or are simply contrarians.

We also need great leaders, commanders, and captains to channel these voices. To steer the wheel, show the way, and say, “Let’s do it”. People need guidance; they love role models. They follow because someone touches them. We need no force when something is greater than us. We contribute if there is a cause. We need someone to decide quickly and show the winning path…

Conclusion

So, to put the seal on this once and for all, consider these mistakes, flaws and hidden issues that your business may already be suffering from, and commit to adjusting these problems. Get help fast enough if you are unsure. If you can’t commit now, how can you do it when the crisis strikes? Break the cycle so you can have more from life beyond the business…