Introduction
Louis XIV of France, the "Sun King", is classically attributed the famous phrase "The State is Me". This historic quote illustrates the daily work experience and feeling - more than daily, of each moment of the working day - of many entrepreneurs, owners and / or leaders of small and medium-sized companies.
Now, in the business world, this reality of the "business man" implies more disadvantages than advantages; above all, it involves physical, emotional wear and tear and even a permanent feeling of anguish for the businessman. Are you one of those "Atlases" that carry the company on your shoulders? Let's analyze the topic and present some ideas to get out of a vicious circle that can end up damaging both your company and you.
Symptoms of problems
Five in the afternoon. Your employees leave at the end of the day, and you haven't started doing your thing: dozens of unopened emails, pending calls, and what's worse, what you really had to do is just an alarm in your head: analyze this possible contract, plan the production strategy; define those service levels, allocate the resources for the project… And now you must do it (Who else, if not?) with a whole day of work on top that has already exhausted you. These are clear symptoms of the "company man" syndrome. You have spent the day: attending to unforeseen events in the operation or plant, acquiring equipment, materials, services, attending to unforeseen events and HR issues, etc. The list is not intended to be exhaustive. What does exist is a common denominator: they are not the things to which you.You should dedicate the bulk of your daily schedule and energy.
However, for them to be done - and done well - the "business man" has to do them. As the company grows, the situation worsens, until it is consumed… from “man company” to “man company”, almost as an irony that badly rewards his professional success.
Another classic symptom of this phenomenon is that your employees / subordinates come to your office to ask you what, in the words of an entrepreneur who was dealing with this problem: “absolutely anything that a five-year-old cannot solve”, much less if it carries some kind of decision or responsibility.
Own identity
These kinds of examples are symptoms - not the cause of the problem. The real problem is that the company does not have its own identity: it cannot sustain its operation without the presence of the "man-company" that keeps it alive, almost like artificial respiration equipment. It may be that "a company is nothing more than the shadow cast of a man", but that does not mean that the man has to "sunbathe all day" for that shadow to be cast. Through its own identity, the company can:
• Operate a series of necessary but not strategic processes “autonomously”.
• Operate the processes identified as part of the “value chain”, within a range of “normal” conditions, operate autonomously, that is, without the direct attention of the entrepreneur.
A practical rule to distribute the time: the employer should dedicate 20% of his time to the exceptional cases, that come out of the automation mentioned in the two previous points, and 80% of his time, to what he knows that " It really has to be done. "
Giving your company its own identity
How to get out of that vicious circle? There is no unique recipe - each case: each company and each entrepreneur - they are unique, but some elements to consider are:
• Investment in human capital: the most important word in that phrase is "investment". It is not "expensive people", it is not a "waste", it is not "corporate fat" or other derogatory terms that have become fashionable. It's about hiring not just the right number of people, but more importantly, hiring the right profiles. Those high wages you are avoiding are translating into your being the sole decision maker: a ship with a captain and ordinary sailors, but no pilot, first officer, or officers. Do you know which are these officers to hire, and for which positions?
• Outsourcing: ask yourself if you are clear about which processes and activities are really adding value and therefore where you should focus your attention. A good idea is to do a “value chain” exercise, and identify where a differentiated service or product is actually created in your company. Hence, some basic questions follow:
What processes could you outsource, outsource, assign under the complete responsibility of someone in the organization?
• Coordination and meetings: the “man-company” does not have much time, in fact, it does not have it at all. So avoid meetings at all costs. Although a poorly conceived and, above all, misdirected meeting can be a waste of time, there is no doubt that the main tool for directing, coordinating, empowering, assigning and, above all, leading is the face-to-face meeting with the correct subordinates. Do you know how to schedule those meetings, and how to run them? This tactic can be a powerful ally if it is properly aligned to the overall strategy.
• Definition of roles and responsibilities: it seems obvious, but in the midst of the whirlwind experienced in companies tied to their employer, people do not know what their responsibilities, their roles are, or at what times they apply. Remember that a job is nothing more than a group of roles, more or less coherent, associated with "someone". When to change your “hat”? Which "hat" has priority in each case? And who gets each "hat"?
conclusion
In addition to the aforementioned strategies and others that go beyond the scope of this work, any successful strategy to save a "company man" is born from a change in attitude of the businessman himself. The main problem of the "business man" is believing that his has no solution. The solution does exist and is closer than you think.
