In almost all small businesses, owners have dual roles in their companies. Sometimes many more. This can be problematic. It’s like the kid who owned the basketball in a pickup game who, if they didn’t get their way, could always resort to “it’s my ball and if we don’t do it my way I am going home.”
According to Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach, there are two things we can’t look at directly: the sun, and the truth. Without clouds or filters, both can be incredibly painful to look at directly. With one, we’ll actually go blind.
So how do we know what’s happening with the sun or the truth if we can’t look directly at them?
Effective issue solving is a huge factor in running a successful business. Some company issues seem monumental and can stifle progress because of their perceived magnitude.
It’s no secret that most people cringe when they hear the words, “let's have a meeting.” Most meetings are awful.
When I first took the helm of our third-generation family business, I ran some pretty awful meetings. I knew I had to get the team on the same page with everything that was happening on a day-to-day basis, so I scheduled the leadership team to meet for 2-3 hours every other week.
Entrepreneurs tend to be extroverts. It’s easy for them to talk out issues and make decisions quickly. Introverts, on the other hand, process information internally, by sitting with it for a while. They can be excellent listeners and deep thinkers with keen insight that provides creative solutions. But it’s often not easy for introverts to discuss issues thoughtfully until they’ve been able to process their thoughts on their own first.
