Thinking "Beyond the Box"

I have an interesting proposition for you. As entrepreneurs, we all struggle with the need to do everything ourselves. Yet, if we want our company to grow, we need new thoughts, new ideas and new approaches to problems that will challenge us to take our company in a different direction.

My research shows that over 75% of entrepreneurs in the Okanagan Valley are facing a daunting challenge. They face problems that they don't know how to fix so they hold onto the problem and don't let others help. I am not talking about the known ways of working. Rather, I am talking about the areas that are completely outside of your scope of knowledge and expertise. I am talking about areas that you just haven't tackled because you are not sure how to approach them.

In a recent assignment, I was helping an entrepreneur to recognize that the most significant reason that her company had reached a growth plateau had nothing to do with her product, her team, her customers, her suppliers or changing market demographics. In fact, as bold a conclusion as this is, my work showed that she was the bottleneck that stifled growth in her company! As you can appreciate, to help someone see themselves in the mirror of their business problems is a very delicate situation. Fortunately, we were able to work through the issues. As a result, she recognized that the main reason for the lack of growth was her reluctance to hand off high profile, top priority projects that were outside of her area of expertise and competence.

So, how do you first recognize this problem and then effectively deal with it? Interestingly enough, to use a Dr. Phil law of life, "You cannot change what you do not acknowledge." Recognizing and acknowledging the problem is the majority of the battle.

Here is a technique that you can use to not only recognize the problem but to take action. First, write down all of the top priority projects that your company IS working on. Identify who is primarily accountable for each project and what your level of involvement is. Second, identify all of the top priority projects that your company IS NOT working on but would like to. Third, list what the main outcomes of the "unstarted" projects and what expertise is required to both start and complete each project. Fourth, is the most difficult step. In light of the skill sets required for the project, acknowledge to yourself whether or not you have the skill sets to pull the project off.

As simple as this technique is, it will help you to recognize that the main reason that you are putting off these projects has more to do with how far they are out of your comfort zone. In the example I gave above, the entrepreneur found that the main reason that over 90% of high priority projects had not been started was because the project was completely outside of her diverse skill sets. She was comfortable tackling problems and projects where she could demonstrate her leadership and competence. However, anything that could possibly result in her not knowing what to do was a threat to her perception of great leadership and, therefore, was "dangerous ground".

To put it bluntly, she was procrastinating because she didn't feel in control and didn't really want her team to know that she really had no idea how to tackle the problems associated with these high profile projects. However, she also knew that taking no action or inaction, could cause the death of her company. Fortunately, she was able to recognize that the fear of exposure of her own inabilities was in fact the biggest issue that the company faced.

I am very happy to say that this entrepreneur, after recognizing how significant an issue this was, took action. The result - after only three months, the company is well on its way back to explosive growth. More significantly, the entrepreneur is much more ready to acknowledge her shortcomings and enlist the help of her team to tackle problems outside of her comfort zone. As she so aptly put it "this isn't outside of the box thinking of me - it is a real, personal transformation that I am totally committed to. I guess you could say that it is "Beyond the Box" thinking for me."

As an entrepreneur, take the time to reevaluate those high priority projects that never seem to leave your desk. You may find yourself adopting a "Beyond the Box" mentality that will enable your company to get to the next phase of growth. Remember that you can change what you do acknowledge.

Steve Burns, CA, CMC, CFP, is the president and CEO of Burns Innovation Group Inc. (www.burnsinnovation.com) and Steve Burns Inc. Chartered Accountant (www.steveburns.ca), which provide consulting and accounting services to entrepreneurs. You can reach Steve at 763-4716 or via e-mail at: steve@burnsinnovation.com or steve@steveburns.ca.

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