Practical Biz Solutions
The business success newsletter for
business owners, top executives, and
commission sales people from Stan Mann

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Dear Reader:

High Achievers have great strengths. They also have
correspondingly great weaknesses. The very leadership style that
worked so wonderfully in one situation may be self-defeating in
another. This occurs most often when a gifted entrepreneur starts
a business that grows quickly--perhaps too quickly. Let me give
you an example.

Jim's once high profit margins were declining in spite of revenue
well over three million. He owns an information technology
consulting and networking integration firm. Three years ago he
started small, with three employees.

A high achiever, Jim was highly motivated and during their daily
contacts his enthusiasm and motivation rubbed off on his workers.
Having good intuition about the needs of his business, Jim made
all the decisions in the small company. His business grew fast as
he built a reputation for producing electronic solutions for his
clients. He grew to  25 workers and then his troubles began.

Jim became hard to get hold of. He spent most of his time
responding to the urgent needs of his clients or putting out
fires. He intended to make business plans but never got around to
it.

Workers complained they no longer got enough direction to handle
the increased amount of work. Employees needed a structure and a
system to help them make decisions. Without any systems for
processing the higher volume, they simply had to work harder and
longer. They no longer felt valued by Jim. In the early years,
the company attracted and kept excellent workers, then they
stared having high turnover.

Jim lost some key clients due to mistakes having been made on
some projects. They no longer trusted they will receive the
reliable service they had enjoyed in the early days.

In spite of higher sales, as a result of the lost business,
mistakes, and employee turnover, profit margins headed down fast.

What happened to this once successful company? The owner was
using methods that worked successfully for him in the past, when
the company was small, but became outmoded by the rapid growth of
his company.

The company grew beyond Jim's wingspan--the area where he could
make the right decision based on his instincts. When the company
grew beyond this wingspan, Jim was in unfamiliar territory and
his instincts lead him into making decisions that worked in the
former situation but in the new circumstances were wrong
decisions.

His impressive strengths that made him a high achiever and
launched a successful electronics company no longer worked in his
bigger company. To avoid disaster, Jim decided to change his
leadership style. Jim hated the idea of down sizing his company,
or hiring managers to manage for him. He chose to change his
leadership style with the help of a coach.

Here are the specific shifts Jim made in his leadership style.

Jim became a good communicator. He had been a poor communicator.
He tended to forget that people can't read his mind.  He also
tended to think faster than the average person.

So Jim learned to communicate with his workers like he does with
customers--listen carefully, ask for constant feedback, and to
slow down for 'detail thinkers.'Jim used special assessments to
tell him how to best communicate with his workers.

Jim knows his purpose and role and hence does not need anybody's
help in setting his goals; but most employees do need help in
clarifying goals and objectives.

So Jim devoted time to help his people clarify their goals and
objectives He created an atmosphere of trust where it is safe for
everybody to admit their needs.

Being highly motivated, Jim does not need supervision but most
employees do. So Jim started providing supervision and support
for his people to meet their goals and objectives. He also
provided a structure and a system to help his workers make
decisions.

This took time, so Jim decided to give up his role of hand
holding his clients. Realizing that this customer service
contributed to his success, he hired specialists to take over
this role.

This allowed Jim to cut down his excessive hours. He was
encouraged to take care of himself first. After all, he was the
foundation of his business. If he burned out, the business is
sure to suffer.

In essence, Jim shifted from working in his business to working
on his business--from personally providing customer service, to
leading and managing his people. Now he has personal time for
family and friends. These changes eliminated the chaos in his
business and his profit margins are heading up. 

© 2004 Stan Mann.

Stan Mann, C.P.C. supports business owners, top executives and
commission salespeople to substantially grow their business and
have a balanced life. He is a Certified Professional Coach. For
additional articles and FREE resources please visit
http://www.stanmann.com