You’re only one person, and you are going to need more folks pulling on the oars. Delegate. As owners, we tend to be possessive of our idea. After all, it was our brainchild, right? The problem is that many owners make the mistake of trying to do everything themselves. If you are going to move on to greater heights, however, you’re going to have to master the subtle art of delegation. Rulers are called rulers because they rule. Managers are called managers because they manage.
Learning to delegate effectively is one of the requirements of the very successful. Someone good at delegating is someone who has learned how to hand tasks over to others for accomplishment but retain control.
How do you get there? You have to recognize and hire people who can accept authority. You have to delegate to them, let them make mistakes, correct them, guide them. You have to lead people, work with them, motivate them and rehabilitate them when they have problems. They will have problems.
You are also, as an owner, going to have to accept mediocrity in performance because most people who work for you do not have the same motivation you have. They have a job. You have a dream. They have a need for pay. You have ambition. Most of them just want to get by and be happy. You want to attain greater things and that makes you happy.
So, because of these differences, most of those to whom you delegate various tasks will not perform them the same way you would if you did them yourself. You may have to tolerate varying degrees of mediocrity in performance. Otherwise, you’ll go stark raving mad and no one will work for you!
This is a description of what you’ll find when you reach out beyond yourself on the path to greater attainment. It’s not a reflection on employees. Of course you will have employees who do not act or perform perfectly. Neither will they make decisions all the time the way you would make decisions. Their motivations are different.
You will find some people are much better at certain functions than you are. For example, buying requires discipline and diligence rather than creativity. Accounting requires attention to detail; marketing, a flair. You want to align the skills and talents of those you hire with functions they are inclined to do best.
Successful entrepreneurs learn to delegate and thereby learn how to motivate and lead people who have lesser goals, lesser standards and different motivations.
Don’t forget to go the website for my new book, www.greenweenies.com, to learn all the backroom business terms. There are 1,200+ terms in over 300 pages, with hilarious illustrations by world famous Gahan Wilson. You can register there for your free weekly “green weenie.” If you want to know what a three fingered booger is, or what’s in a train wreck envelope, it’s the only place to go!
Remember, only you can make BUSINESS GREAT! Next month, more from Chapter Six of How to Salvage Millions from Your Small Business.
Please email if you would like me to send previous articles.
AutoSalvageconsultant.com was formed in 2001 to help recyclers improve their businesses. With over fifty years of experience in three staff members, the group is THE definitive source for recyclers’ management and training needs. The founder, Ron Sturgeon, is past owner of AAA Small Car World. You can review his resume, with skills and experience, at our website. In 2002, his book How to Salvage Millions From Your Small Business was published to help small business owners achieve significant success. It was recently reprinted in the U.S. and published in China, Korea and the Czech Republic. You can learn more about how to help your business at www.autosalvageconsultant.com. You can reach us at 5940 Eden, Haltom City, TX 76117, or by calling or emailing Mike Gibson or Tammy Sturgeon. Mike can be reached at 817-925-0061 or mikeg@autosalvageconsultant.com, and Tammy can be reached at 817-999-1224 or tammysturgeon@all-import.com
