Entrepreneurs are a strange breed. We rarely like to let go. Normally we are the king of our own kingdoms because we are excellent at what we do, and most of the time, we can out-perform the majority of our employees when it comes to the tasks that we pay them to do for us.
However, I have a massive reality check for you all. We are also the absolute WORST, ball-breaking, micro-managing bunch of people on this green planet of ours! Fact!
Micro-managers are the types of people that know what they want, and how they want it. Regardless of what ‘it’ is. They are the type of people that will ask to be copied into every email their staff sends to clients. They are also the type of people that will ask you to attend a meeting with a client to close on a new business deal for the company, only to turn up and do it themselves, whilst you sit there like a lemon, twiddling your thumbs. [Note: Both of these things have happened to me before in the past, with an ex-boss!]
“If you want something done properly, you’ve got to do it yourself…!”.
Ever heard that phrase before? Of course you have. In fact, you’d be kidding yourself, as an entrepreneur if you couldn’t admit that you’ve said it yourself at least a handful of times. I know I have!
I decided to write this post as a result of a Virtual Business Consultation call I did with someone last week. Throughout the course of my hour long conversation with ‘John’ (I’m changing my clients name for confidentiality reasons), we spoke about a lot of different subjects such as cloud computing, virtual assistants, productivity on the road and technology to help him grow his business, and then he dropped the final question on me… “No matter how hard I try to stop micro-managing people, I just can’t. How do I do what you did last year and remove myself from my business, but still have it run properly….?”.
My answer to John was simple enough, which I will go into a little later on. However, let me first state here and now, there is no quick-fix to this situation, or every business owner in the world would be doing it.
You Can’t Give it Up AND Live it Up!
In answering John, firstly, I was clear to point out that I was still very much involved in the operations of my company on a day-to-day basis – only from a distance the majority of the time. I still go into the office twice a week to meet with the various members of my management team, such as HR, Marketing and Operations and I still ‘work’ on my business every day.
In a nutshell, if you want your company to continue to run and grow properly, you still need to be involved. You can’t completely ‘remove’ yourself from your company, jet set around the world, unplugging completely for long periods of time and expect things to carry on as if you were there. Thats impossible. Whether you’re in the office for 12 hours a day, or working from various different locations, you still need to ‘be there’, and more importantly, be there regularly.
First Things First – Admit to Yourself You Have a Problem!
“Hi, my name is Chris and I’m a Micro-Manager, its been over a year since I micro-managed last…” .
As many of you might remember, at the beginning of 2010 I put a goal in place to become a Full-Time Virtual CEO by the end of the year. I achieved that goal. However, what hardly anyone knows is that it was the biggest, toughest challenge I have ever undertaken. Why? Because I was a micro-manager myself. Notice the word ‘was’ in that last sentence.
It was a year long goal, and to make it easier on me, I broke the goal down into twelve mini-goals, or monthly goals. It worked obviously, and for the most part I was bang-on target with all my goals, except one, which was a crucial hire I made three months later than I wanted to, but nonetheless, it all worked out.
However, it was the first goal, the goal I needed to achieve in January, that was the toughest out of the bunch. Looking back on my original notes I wrote down for myself, it simply says… ‘Stop Micro-Managing!’.
Making Your ‘Micro-Managing Maniac’ List
There were many things I was doing that ripped massive amounts of time away from being productive and fundamentally stopping me from living the lifestyle I wanted to, and growing my business. So, I made a list for myself and I suggest you do the exact same thing right after you’re done reading this post!
In the meantime, however, here are a few things I had on my list. Note, this list is not complete. There was more on it!!!
- Copied into HR emails.
- Copied into Admin emails.
- Copied into Operations emails.
- Copied into IT emails.
- Receive all client inquiry emails directly.
- Only I can answer client inquiries.
- Only I can write training material.
- Only I can produce sales and marketing copy.
- Only I can work with contractors when expanding.
- I handled final interviews of all new employees.
As you can tell, due to the fact that this list is not complete, I was very busy and was micro-managing all the time. I was involved more than I really needed to be, in virtually every department in my business. Plus, I was receiving and reading way too many emails.
Going Email Cold Turkey!
Things had to change, and I started with a drastic move – I stopped receiving all the additional emails I was being copied into. From everyone. I literally went cold turkey. There were still certain people I decided to keep emails coming from, such as certain management personnel, but on the whole everyone was told to basically not email me unless they deemed it to be absolutely essential.
This one thing created almost three hours of additional time every day for me. Overnight!
I did keep receiving the prospective client emails from our website for the next few months, and then decided to hand that over to someone else to manage. They spend a certain period of time every day weeding out the ‘tire kickers’ by replying to emails with a few short questions. If they are genuinely interested in working with us, then they will reply with answers. For those that don’t reply, we simply forget about them. This might sound a bit brutal, however, we receive on average around 50 inquiries a week, so it’s a very effective way of making that incoming number of prospects more manageable – plus, we do record everyones email address, so we can market to them regularly.
Stop Managing and Start Delegating
If I was to free up more time to be able to focus on the continued growth of the company I was going to have to start delegating like a madman! I looked at our training material. It was good. After all, I had personally written it – however, some of it was out of date and if I was to be honest, it needed to be updated with a more ‘local’ approach to getting results, faster, from new recruits. Enter my fantastic Operations and QA teams. They re-worked it, and I am very happy with the outcome.
Then the sales side of things needed a rejiggering. So, it was decided that I would only speak with prospective clients that needed a minimum of five outsourced employees working on their campaign. Everything less than that would be handled by my fantastic, and very capable Operations team.
On the expansion side of things, I brought in my wife, Ercille to work closely with my Admin team and our contractors. She knows me better than anyone in the world. The things I like, the things I hate, everything! We did two expansions in 2010, the first one in February which took 4 weeks to complete and happened when I was out of the country on business. Awesome! The second in December, where we needed to expand our HR and Accounting offices. Again, Ercille worked with the admin girls and the contractors almost every step of the way, coming to me only when she needed input on the color scheme of the walls and a few other minor details.
Finally, nowadays with almost 250 full-time staff working for me, I only do the final interviews of supervisory and management staff only. All my other ‘Live2Sellers’ (as we are known as!) are interviewed, tested and hired by my HR Manager and her team of assistants, following guidelines that have been in place for a long, long time and are proven to make sure we find people that fit our company culture and outlook on life and work in general.
Just Delegate!
So, as I said to John on our call, make a long story, short…. Just start delegating. Sure, some of your staff will screw up (so did some of mine!), but ultimately, they learned by their mistakes and have become stronger members of the company because of that trust shown in them to step-up and do the jobs on their own. I’m pretty confident yours will do.
If I had of continued to bail them out, and read their emails and micro-manage them the way I was, there is absolutely no way we would be where we are today, not only with the fantastic staff we have, but also the awesome client base we have (if any of my clients are reading this – thank you, you all ROCK!)
Have you guys ever delegated your way to great accomplishments? If so, I’d to hear about it. If not, perhaps you can start now, and let us all know how you get on in the near future!
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Brilliant article Chris, I think most people have a hard time letting go, thinking that the job won’t get done to as good a ‘standard’ when it’s been handed over. In many cases I have found that the person I have hired can do the job better than me, and when there are problems or issues, (and it’s very rare with the right team on board) it’s all about how I handle them and get through them.
At the end of the day, the more we take on as business owners, the more it will take it’s toll, and our own performance will suffer the consequences.
I put into place 3 department managers in January, one took over practically a full time role from me, and it’s increased company productivity literally by double, allowing me to do a new client intake this month. I wholeheartedly agree – Just Delegate!
Thanks, Michelle.
Incredibly intellectual comment for first thing in the morning, your time! LOL
Happy to hear that following those additional hires you’ve create tons more productivity. Absolutely awesome news! If you want to do a post on it for the VBL, let me know.
Thanks for dropping by, as always.
C
wow, this is great advice, my business is nearing this stage now and its something I need to start to seriously look into. I hate creating process docs etc but I know its worth it in the long run. I already have one VA but looking to expand quickly.
Hi Vinay
Thanks for the comment, bud. Great to hear you’re already rollin’ nicely, and ready to take things to the next level.
When you’re ready to pull the trigger on that second VA, let me know. I’ll hook you up through the Virtual Staff Finder service…
C
Great post! The idea that projects can’t be done right unless the business owner is doing them is a mindset that needs to be changed. Delegating and outsourcing can be beneficial in many areas. When a person delegates they will wish they had done it sooner!
Couldn’t agree more, Katie.
I believe this is your first comment on the blog – welcome, and thanks.
Solid insight.
C
The first time I read the 4-hour work week, the part that resonated with me the most was the chapter where Tim Ferris talks about cutting out all the email chatter in his life. He empowered his staff to make decisions that were best for the company by creating guidelines that were easy to follow. In short, he said he didn’t want to be contacted unless there was an “escalated issue”, which for him was a customer service issue over a certain dollar amount. Everything below that dollar amount, and his staff was empowered to “do the right thing” for his company. This cut his email load from 100′s down to a dozen or so per week. Brilliant!
On a more personal note, I find that the more lists I subscribe to, the less I get done in my business. So I have recently become a strict gatekeeper for my email address. I only subscribe to a handful of lists now, and the rest of my day is devoted to crushing my to-do lists, delegating, and tweaking processes within my business.
Time is the most important asset you can protect as an entrepreneur!
Hi Robb
Ahh… That old chestnut called EMAIL…..!!!!!!
Its amazing how great minds think alike – I also had a massive ‘unsubscribe’ mission in the first week or January, and converted over to Google Reader. So much less email coming in, and youre right, it certainly helps.
I think email will continue to be a massive time-drain for entrepreneurs, simply because as time goes by you tend to give your address out to more and more people, naturally. Sometimes a little housekeeping helps.
Thanks for the comment, bud.
C
Great post Chris, and I agree with Robb. Email is such a time-suck. I find in my business that I was spending waaaay too much time on it, crafting these very well worded but essay-like emails! I kept wanting to make sure the right message came across with the right tone and vocabulary…but at the end of the day it’s not really that necessary. I’ve managed to cut down on the time spent typing emails, and I’m working towards a 4HWW like email system – I guess that just became my goal for the year!
Hi Jeff
Thanks for the comment and kind words, bud.
I dont think that you have to come up with a ‘system’ per se, when it comes to managing your email. Just guidelines, more than anything else. This will be a topic of conversation (like I said in my reply to Robb!) between entrepreneurs, for ever! Literally!
I might even break things down a little further in the future sometime, and perhaps run a post / webinar combo on the subject. If people show enough interest…
Thanks for getting involved, and look forward to interacting with you more!
C
Very timely post, Chris.
Currently I’ve been struggling with scaling up my business with outsourcing, but I’ve been dealing with the frustrations of jobs not getting done to the standard of quality I want. I suppose you’re right though, I need to let them grow into the job and allow them to learn how to do it right themselves.
Chris, great topic. Pulling away is certainly very very difficult. We have chosen to do partnering with other financing firms rather than increase our own staff and its forced me to not micro manage since they are business owners too and they know what they have to get done. This has actually made it easier for me otherwise I think I’d be a micro too.
You also wanted to know when my non-profit fundraising project was ready and aside from the online payment gateway, its ready so please go check out http://www.javaendowment.com when you get a chance. The Java Endowment Project is a direct sales and online fundraising tool for schools, youth groups, assns and non-profits through the sales of Coffee by the bag. Between 25-30% of the revenue ($12 for 12 oz bag of premium coffee) goes directly to the non-profit.
Keep up the good work and I like the new look of the blog too.
Stu
Hi Stu
Awesome news on Java – I’ll be checking it out…
Great comment and insight, its tough – but, I think those who dare, truly do win!
C
Great article Chris. I think that ‘letting go’ is one of the easiest things to do physically but the most difficult to do mentally. The old adage “don’t sweat the small stuff” is all very well, but entrepreneurs in my experience think that only they can do things well enough. I had one client who didn’t trust anyone to do things like packing of products to send to the clients – just in case they weren’t addressed properly or the items get broken en route!
Sheer madness! The best approach, which you outline is small steps. But I would say this, if you are employing people in managerial positions, what are you employing them for if you don’t trust them to do the job?
Cheers, Matthew
Madness, indeed…!
Couldnt agree more with your last statement, too, mate. Spot on.
I had to hire a total of 9 additional people last year, to help me vacate the office more regularly, but they were ALL worth it.
C
Having worked for a micromanager at one time, I can tell you first hand that it is a miserable, stifling, thankless job. I have no research to back this up but I would imagine that micromanagers have a higher turnover among their employees which then causes them to have to spend more time searching for and training their replacements!
Hi Debbie
Yep – not fun at all. And you’re right, it makes the employee almost resent their boss.
Thanks for the frank comment.
C
this is a busy blog you have here Chris
loads of good content and commnets
cheers
to all who contribute
I wa once told that delegation without responsability only demeans the worker – rather than enable them.
cheers
Hi John
Yep – great little community we are building, happy to have you part of it, too.
Thanks for being involved, and for the hat-tip!
C
Chris,
I’ve been listening to the podcast and reading your blog for quite some time and the content keeps getting better and better. Thanks for everything.
The majority of my business is delegated to my wonderful Filipino VAs. They do a great job and have steadily increased my revenue. BUT, how do you know if you are giving up too much? What I mean is, what if you back away so much that your VA’s take advantage? (Not that mine ever would, but it’s always in the back of my mind if I hire new ones.)
Hey Dean
Thanks for dropping by and your kind comment.
I see from your blog that you’re actively promoting the use of VAs, too – thats great. Actually, I sent an email to you via your form – if you dont get it – email me from the CONTACT page of this site.
To answer your question, this is tough! Knowing when to hold back is a vital business skill that comes with, unfortunately, nothing but experience. You cant create an eBook about it, or stick it in a bottle and sell it. Good, old fashioned experience is what its all about. And 9/10 following your gut. My gut has NEVER let me down, and I’m serious… Never. So, I suggest to anyone with this question in their mind to just keep ahold of the stuff that required YOU. You know what those are… until you’re happy to give them away to someone.
Thanks for the cool question, buddy!
C
Hi Chris,
Congratulations on going through all those changes. I am full of envy in a good way!
I am been a consummate or compulsive obsessive consultant for more than a decade and only this end can practically say with my heart in the statement – you have taken a great path and I am just about to begin it. Systems were something I used not created. Look forward too watching you blogs and videos for ways to go forward.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan
Thanks for the great comment, and kind words. I really appreciate it.
Creating your own systems means you make the rules, which is incredibly important, because everyones day to day lives have some many different parameters. Do whats best for you, not what everyone else it doing.
I believe this is your first comment on the VBL Blog. Thanks, and hope to see more of you in the future.
Best,
C
Chris, thanks for sharing an inside look at how you disengaged. I’m very much the same way – I have a hard time letting go and trusting my people to do the right thing. But it’s the only way to grow. This is one of your best articles yet.
Thanks for the kudos, Mike.
Appreciated, buddy – I enjoyed writing this one.
C
I’m an entrepreneur that never has any money. I can’t afford to hire locally in Canada, because even just one week of wages — which is not even enough to get someone trained — is gone, and before I know it that Canadian is gone too. Now I’m trying to train overseas people in my business but of course I’m doing battle with different time zones, poor Internet connections or bad computers. Thankfully I have a strong ‘go-get-em’ spirit and I am passing this along to the new guys overseas. But I have to really concentrate hard and spend a lot of late evenings online doing training. Hope I can learn to ‘let go’ soon. Fortunately I can correct the bad internet and bad computers by throwing a bit of money at that problem but that time zone difference is hard to manage. Who stays up late? Me or them? hmmmm? We are sharing that issue now so its not always me, and not always them.
Thanks Chris for this insightful story about “letting go”.
Hi Paul
Glad you enjoyed the post, buddy and thanks also for sharing your insights on this subject, too.
Keep that ‘go get em’ spirit, buddy – I am sure you’ll be attracting lots of $$$ soon!
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
C