Entrepreneurs, generally get lost in trying to manage many things at once. They sometimes, get into firefighting mode-running from one department to another for managing organisation. This leaves very limited time to do things which actually promotes the business.
The solution? There are three things which you should work on as an entrepreneur.
Let’s go through a small story:
In a factory, there were massively long conveyor belts which transported products from one end to another. One afternoon, the kilometres-long chains came to a standstill. All the work stopped. The engineers got to work, trying to figure out where exactly the problem lie.
Even after working for hours, the qualified engineers weren’t able to find out the problem. The general manager started panicking, shouting orders at every other person. The supervisor came forward and suggested to bring in an old mechanic that lived nearby.
In a couple of hours, the mechanic came in- an old man with a hunched back. As he came in, instead of going to the conveyor belt, walked up the stairs and started studying the whole lot of conveyor belts from a distance- from a bird’s eye view. After observing for a long time, he alighted down the stairs. The qualified engineers were still mocking the manager for calling in an unqualified man.
The old man went up to a particular spot, tightened just a screw and all the belts started functioning properly. Everyone was surprised. The manager ran up to the mechanic, thanked him and asked his fees. The mechanic stated it to be Rs.30,000. The shocked manager asked the man, “I just saw what you did. Are you really charging Rs.30,000 for just turning a screw?”
The man answered, “Son, I am just charging a rupee for turning the screw, the rest Rs.49,999 is for knowing which screw to turn.”
So, to support our initial statement, don’t get into managing everything at once. There are three screws to focus on, in and business- Clarity, Culture and Competence. These are the three steps in managing organisation.
Clarity:
Clarity means to know something. Not only the leadership team, but each member of your organisation should be able to answer these questions:
- Who am I in this organisation?”
- What am I responsible for?
- What activities can fulfil my responsibilities?
Confusion kills clarity. So, answer these questions to get clarity for business. Every employee should know the answers to these questions and this is the trick to manage employees and also one of the many ways to grow an organisation.
Culture:
Relationships between teams and team members are the foundation of team performance. Responsive relationships create happier and resourceful people. This makes team members go beyond the reasons to achieve results for your organisation.
Competence:
The final ‘screw’ can be termed as competence. It is simply a person’s skill and knowledge, and the willingness to use it to improve their performances.
Competence is the root of performance. You have to improve this root to get better results.
So, do not get into the fire-fighting mode. Constantly tighten the right screws to get the right results and do the ‘managing organisation’ in the right way.