You
work hard because your business doesn't
Now imagine a business like that for a moment, where you didn't
have to work there - would the business WORK? I mean would it
function properly? Would all of the systems and the people integrate
to get the result you wanted, the result the customer wanted?
Of course it wouldn't.
Almost every business owner I've ever met works so hard (too hard)
for this exact reason. Their business doesn't work. Everything
about the business is in their head, and they're the only one
who can do anything, so they're trapped.
Take the step, start to document how everything in your business
gets done, teach other people and give them the responsibility
to get the job done.
All great leaders are good at delegating so start off-loading
some of the tasks NOW!
By the way, once you've given them the job to do, let them do
it. Don't jump in and save them, they'll never learn how to get
the job done. All they will learn is that you're the only one
who can fix things, so you always will. Remember, sometimes you
have to let them fall off the bike to learn how to stay on.
Work for yourself and go the extra mile.
All that you've just read doesn't excuse you if you're working
in a business that's owned by someone else. Remember, what goes
around comes around, so give it everything you've got. Always
go that little bit further than you're asked to, give a little
extra and you'll go far. If you're asked to stay till 5 PM, stay
until 5.30 PM, just do a little more than you're asked for.
By the way, this goes for your customers as well. Don't just satisfy
them, a satisfied customer never tells anyone about you. Give
them something more than they expected, go the extra mile…delight
them so they send their friends your way.
Key to success is laziness
Here's a controversial one but I'd rather have 1 per cent of 100
peoples' income than 100 per cent of my own. If you've ever thought
that you'll succeed if you just work a little harder, put in some
extra time, or just do more of what you're doing right now, then
it's time you lifted your head and took a look around you.
The aim of the game isn't to work harder, it's to create better
results with less effort - finding ways of achieving more with
less. In other words, to continually leverage
your time, your efforts, your money and your knowledge.
If you're paid an hourly wage, you'll never earn more than the
number of hours you work, but if you and your business are set
up so that you're paid whether you work or not, then you've truly
understood one of the key principles of success, Leverage.
