Why You Should Always Delegate Before You Really Have To
I tell my audiences every day that the key to success is taking action. Take a minute to look over this weeks featured articles and videos that highlight the different ways you might take action and have it positively benefit your bottom line.
Why You Should Always Delegate Before You Really Have To
by Paul Brown
The odds are you are doing too many things that are not worthy of your attention.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. the frustrations you are experiencing are both understandable and predictable. As small companies grow, the founder can no longer do everything himself. Many refuse to delegate, and their organization stop growing. Their companies never become any bigger than one person can handle.
But even for companies that recognize the problem, the transition from individual control to broad-based management is difficult and scary. It is a huge psychological step turning over (even part of) what you created to someone else.
When do you take that step? The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is immediately upon creation. Even when the company is small enough for one person to do everything, one person should not be doing it all. What this means is if you haven’t done so already, you need to start delegating today.
Why?
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15 Traits of a Terrible Leader
by Young Entrepreneurs Council
Who are you? A horrible boss. But you don’t want to be someone everyone fears, disrespects or distrusts. So how do you change it? Step one is to be aware of the things pegging you as not-so-awesome.
We asked the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to tell us their thoughts on what makes for a terrible leader:
- Lack of Transparency
Staff can tell when you’re not being completely honest with them. There’s rarely a reason not to be entirely transparent with your team, especially at a young, growing company. Your team will appreciate understanding exactly where the company stands. This will help everyone come together as a team, focused on the problems that need solving for the long-term benefit of the company. Lack of transparency can result in a lack of trust.
— Mitch Gordon, Go Overseas
- Not Listening
Listening to all employees as often as possible is so important to building a loyal and faithful team. Everyone needs to be part of the process and bigger picture. Interacting and listening to your team is something that is too often forgotten by CEOs, with the hustle and bustle of job and travel schedules. It shouldn’t be.
—Jason Grill, JGrill Media | Sock 101
- Dismissing Ideas Other Than Your Own
I didn’t realize how toxic this behavior was until it was pointed out to me. Your employees should never feel like they’re pitching you in a way that makes you (as the CEO) think you’re spinning the gold. Understanding a good idea, helping to develop it and providing strong praise and credit where due is incredibly important.
– Jeff McGregor
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Marketing Lessons by Dr. Seuss
by Chris Hoyt
What if I told you the best book on marketing is a children’s book? Well, it is. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss has just about everything you need to know to understand how great marketing works. If you haven’t read it for reason, (perhaps you are an alien, or had a terrible childhood), then go grab yourself a copy. For those who had, let me review the amazing lessons you should learn from this book.
- You can’t make people buy something they don’t already want…but you can get them to try it.
Sam-I-am, no relation to Will, makes the terrible mistake of thinking his friend might like something he has never tried before. This leads them on a wild chase of rhyming scenarios where the potential customer repeatedly insists he does not like green eggs and ham. Sam-I-am has to learn the valuable lesson to change his ask from “do you like it” to “will you try it.”Too many businesses don’t provide people a “bridge” between not being a customer and being a customer. Sometimes, the answer is just to give people smaller steps.
- Persistence is everything.
Studies have continually shown that people have to hear a message many times before they will respond. If everyone had Sam-I-am’s level of persistence – pitching to customer by train, car, and goat – they wouldn’t spend so much time wondering why they aren’t getting leads. Of course, you can’t be heavy handed about it either, but having systems in place to make sure you constantly reach out to potential customers makes a big difference.
- Have a clear call-to-action.
Sam-I-am wins in the end by making a deal: try green eggs and ham and I will leave you alone. A great example of this applied is Geico’s “15 Minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.” In other words, “If you can’t get our message out of your head, 15 minutes is all it takes to settle this once and for all.”
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