What will you stop doing this year? I don’t mean having that extra scoop of ice cream on a Wednesday night, I’m talking about the things you need to stop doing so that you’ll have time to do the things that are most important to you and your business. These are the activities and insight that only you can deliver.
Face it, we are creatures of habit. Depending upon where you started in the organization, you’ve created work habits that were often necessities. You did things not because you wanted to, but because they had to get done and there was no one else to do it. Breaking old habits is hard. In our mind it’s a process that’s working well so why change it? Well, just like anything else, if the variables change and we don’t change our routines, then our routines will become obsolete.
But as the company has grown, you’ve hired a team of folks to do many of those functions. The question is whether you’ve truly empowered them to do those jobs, or do you hover over them making sure they do it just like you would? If you’re that helicopter boss, you really haven’t gained any traction. In fact, you’re taking away the very essence of why you hired them in the first place. It’s kind of like wearing pants with a belt and suspenders – a bit of overkill and not much of a fashion statement.
To me, habits are a little bit like learning something new. If you consider yourself a lifelong learner, this may not be such a large undertaking. But for many, breaking well honed habits can be a real stretch. Alvin Toffler wrote about our ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn as a function of our ability to succeed in changing, challenging times. Holding onto past habits that are no longer effective, can lead to hitting a ceiling of complexity. That point in a company’s timeline were growth stalls out, and it seems that no matter what you do, you can’t get out of your own way. Don’t suffer because of your inability (or resistance) to unlearn. Don’t be that person.
Mike Philie helps owners and CEOs in the Graphic Communications Industry validate what’s working, identify what needs to change, and create a practical path forward.
PhilieGroup | mphilie@philiegroup.com | LinkedIn
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