Are You the Fireman or the Arsonist

If you are a business owner, ask yourself, “am I working so many hours a week that getting a regular job would mean a reduction in hours and stress?” For those who answered “no,” congratulations – you own a business that is working for you rather than you working for the business! For those who said “yes” (and even if you just thought it, that counts, too.) then you must decide what changes you can make in your business that will help you achieve the goals you originally set out to achieve.

One major reason you may find yourself being buried by the business is because you may be too busy working ‘in’ your business, rather than ‘on’ it. Are you setting the fires, rather than planning on how to prevent them? The question a business owner must ask, “Am I the fireman or the arsonist?”

Because of this, many business owners are not achieving the goals they set out for themselves when they opened their business.

One critical answer is Leverage. If you, as a business owner, are working too many hours in your business, then you have a job not a business. Leverage is the key to do more with less. Keep in mind that systems run a business, people run the systems, and the owner manages the people. As a business owner, you need to learn time management and how to leverage.

Many business owners are quick to call in consultants, while others wait until it is too late. Consultants, along with other types of specialists, will do their assigned projects and might be needed again and again. There is another solution. Engaging a business coach who works as a business generalist that is both your agent for change and knowledge transfer.

To prepare you must have a plan. Talking to as many business owners as I do, through my seminars and workshops, I have discovered that many small and mid-sized business owners are running their businesses like Christopher Columbus. That is where you have a rough idea of where you are now; have a vague idea of where you want to go; beg, borrow and steal money to get started; sail off into the sunset and either fall off the edge of the Earth or reach land somewhere.

It is much better for you to take the ACTION Plan for Success, which is: determine exactly what your objectives are; know precisely where you are starting from; budget your resources so that you don’t run out half way to your destination; get advice from specialists that will help you plan a campaign that includes constant measuring and monitoring of your progress so that your success will be guaranteed.

Another scenario that can happen when you spend a lot of time ‘in’ your business is that stress builds up and employee relations suffer. Managers and employees must play “above the line,” meaning take ‘ownership’ for what you do, be ‘accountable’ for your actions, and be ‘responsible’ to your team. Those who act below the line ‘blame’ others, offer ‘excuses’ and ‘deny’ it is their fault. This is critical to building a strong team, which is one of the four keys to leveraging your business.



Are You the Fireman or the Arsonist - To learn more about this author, visit David Levine's Website.

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