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The greatest myth of running your own business is that you have to do it by your lonesome. Coupled with the belief that all it takes to succeed is a fierce desire for independence and the willingness to work hard, this myth can motivate many of us to roll up our sleeves and do whatever it takes. We focus on the tasks at hand. We’re diligent, and we don’t give up until the work is done. Sometimes, it almost seems easy, taking on its own momentum. You start seeing results from all your effort and dedication. Suddenly, the business is growing. Maybe it’s growing fast and you’re losing confidence that you can keep handling the pace. As it gets harder, you dig in, keep doing the same thing you’ve always done, muscle your way through. But, after a while that’s not enough. You are hitting a wall, or maybe you can see that wall coming. There’s indication that there’s a danger of losing key employees, customers, or vendors, and it feels like more problems are on the horizon. There’s a realization that what got your business to this level of growth won’t get you to the next level. Something has to shift. In my book, “Run Your Business, Don’t Let It Run You,” I introduce Aileron’s Professional Management System for applying and maintaining professional management in your business, in a way that works for you. Aileron is a nonprofit organization, created to help privately held businesses grow. Professional management is a well-known, established approach of employing proven fundamentals to the running of your business.
Aileron’s Professional Management System is based on the principles of professional management as explained by many thought leaders. What distinguishes it is its Direction, Operation, Control (DOC) approach, which is at the heart of the system. DOC makes professional management practical for private businesses. The first part of my book proposes a solution to the problem of running a business that depends on you in all matters critical to daily operation. It introduces DOC, its fundamentals, and the shift it requires in your role as leader – stepping back for perspective, looking at the bigger picture, and setting a long-term direction for the future. The second part of the book, Learning Professional Management, goes into more depth on each of the fundamentals, focusing on how you can apply them so they make sense for you and your employees, and how they can help achieve your short-term and long-term goals. Part three: Living Professional Management is about the proactive consideration of your family, the impact of your business on your family, and the importance of a succession plan as part of the legacy and sustainability of your company. As you read, I hope you will experience a shift in your thinking, gain a new understanding of how critical it is for you to spend the majority of your time working on your business instead of in it, and that you will begin to understand the potential impact of professional management. Then, I hope you will take a step further and pursue it.
For more: www.aileron.org and bit.ly/marchgrunder.
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