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Flavor of the month
By Chuck Violand
October 13, 2010
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Although it may seem odd, a great business idea or an expert''s advice can have a negative impact on your company.
While entrepreneurs by nature are people who are hardworking, creative and frequently given to moments of brilliance, they are also easily distracted.
They''re charter members of the "once and done" club: Once they''ve done something, they confidently move on to the next exciting issue that grabs their attention.
This is a dangerous business trait I refer to as "E-Drift" — my own playful twist on Michael Gerber''s "E-Myth" writings.
In my advisory role, I see E-Drift as the entrepreneurial tendency to jump from one activity to another or from one business idea to another.
Worse, I''ve seen abrupt change in business direction seemingly overnight and with little thought to the long-term impact these directional shifts could have on a company.
The causes
The underlying reasons for directional shifts are as varied as the owners themselves.
Sometimes their business isn''t going well and change is needed for the very survival of their company.
Sometimes they see new strategies the company can implement or opportunities they can exploit to significantly improve their bottom line.
However, too many times these shifts takes place simply because the business owner is bored with their situation or because they''ve surrendered to E-Drift and can''t stay focused on the direction the company is headed.
Repeatedly, I''ve seen the latter scenario played out when an entrepreneur has attended a convention or seminar where he or she heard a particularly engaging speaker.
Our E-Drifter gets worked up into an emotional whirl, returns to his or her office and, in effect, announces to their staff: "Hold everything! I just heard this great new idea that we''re going to start using now."
Be cautious!
How is this dangerous?
Let''s start with the scenario where the new advice the owner follows or the new direction they wants to take is simply wrong for the company, but the owner doesn''t know it.
Instead of keeping the company focused on a well-thought-out direction, the owner allows the company to lose momentum by constantly going off in different directions.
It''s like a car that''s swerving all over the road. It''s going to waste an awful lot of energy getting to its destination — if it doesn''t run off the road and crash first.
Another danger is good ideas that fit poorly.
These ideas might be great strategies for other companies, but they just don''t fit the type and size of your company, its current business condition or its unique culture.
There''s also the danger of not curbing our E-Drift habit before it feeds on itself and becomes an addiction.
Problem solving
"E-Drifting" isn''t the only condition that poses a threat to the entrepreneur as business manager. One of their greatest skills — problem solving — also has a dark side.
The fact that most entrepreneurs are experienced problem solvers is a given.
They''ve built their businesses around solving customers'' problems, so when they encounter problems within their own company that they can''t understand, nor solve, it frustrates and pains them.
Complicating this situation with feelings of loneliness and panic are owners of growing businesses who find that they continually explore new territory.
Each day, unfamiliar problems appear involving competitors, customers and operations.
It leaves one feeling exhausted and at risk of choosing any fix for problems.
The consequence of this constantly shifting approach is a tactical standstill.
The company never gets the chance to get a foothold and gain traction on any of the ideas the owner adopts.
Each idea may be sound and may be exactly what the business needs, but the company doesn''t benefit from any of them because none have time to take hold.
Festering frustration
It can seem as if each time a strategy starts to work, the owner announces yet another differing strategy; so instead of the company making consistent progress toward a goal, it appears to take one step forward and then two steps back.
The only consistent result is a growing sense of frustration among the staff, which leads right into the next consequence.
When an owner is constantly jumping from one new idea to the next, dismissing his previous new idea, it doesn''t take long for people working in the company to become cynical.
Soon, they start dragging their feet when it comes to executing the owner''s latest-greatest idea.
If jumping from idea to idea has become a pattern, then people will eventually adopt a "this too shall pass" attitude.
As I write this article, I''m aware of my role in the industry as one of the voices that business owners hear — and one I imagine they occasionally follow.
Facilitating ideas and giving management advice is what my associate business owners and I do.
I''ve witnessed first-hand the debilitating effect that constantly changing business direction or test-driving the newest business guru can have on a company.
I have found it wise to adopt a "cooling off period" — 48 hours, seven days, whatever — to let the initial rush of excitement with a new idea settle and to give yourself time to think things through.
An added benefit is that this usually gives you time to run the idea past some of the key people in your organization and solicit their opinions rather than ramming the idea through.
Finally, there''s an old Western adage that says: "One butt can''t ride two horses."
The wife of one of my clients stated it much more modestly years ago when she cautioned her husband about becoming confused by listening to too many voices.
In other words, think carefully about your options, choose your horse, and then give it a fair ride.
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Chuck Violand began his career by founding a carpet cleaning and disaster restoration operation in northeast Ohio in 1977, and in 1989, began consulting full-time. Each June, Violand hosts an Executive Summit to help owners and managers of cleaning and restoration companies learn the executive skills necessary to manage a growing business (Visit www.violand.com for details). Violand can be reached at (330) 966-0700.
