When Do You Take Your Hand off the Steering Wheel?
Posted on June 23, 2008
Filed Under Management, CEO Skills |
Probably Never. When you’re on a winding road with lots of potholes and a strong wind, you grip the wheel tighter. But even on a smooth highway, you can’t just let go of the wheel and start typing on your Blackberry.
So what does this mean to you? The number one complaint I hear from entrepreneurs about employees is that employees just don’t get it. What I think that means is that entrepreneurs just don’t get it.
Get what? Get that their job is to keep employees moving in the right direction. If the employees knew how to “get it” or what the “right direction” is they’d be working for themselves right now. The reason yours are working for you is that they need that constant reminder of where the company’s heading.
Obviously when things are tough you’ve really got to keep a grip on the wheel. But just because things are going well doesn’t mean you can go “hands off”.
To switch analogies - it’s how you coach a winning sports team.
It’s hard to build a sports dynasty because winning players have a tendency to feel they’ve made it and then slack off. The coach needs to keep them moving forward just as hard.
Takeaways:
- Sure you’re busy - lots of opportunities await. But don’t forget to keep reminding everyone where the company is heading and make those little nudges in the right direction like you do with the steering wheel on the highway.
First image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob406/487249298/
Second image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/19783530@N00/1779549245/
Technorati Tags: Entrepreneur, manager, CEO, Small business
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About
I'm sharing things I wish I knew when I started my business 25 years ago, and things I've learned in 12 years of coaching other entrepreneurs. You won't find the single big, new idea that solves everything, because it doesn't exist. Rather, you'll find ideas you can really use. You can read my story here.
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