Entrepreneur -- Entrepreneurship demands effective leadership. You need to be able to make solid decisions, organize plans, hire teammates and provide direction -- all under the steady pressure of being accountable for all those decisions and actions. To add even more heat, as an entrepreneur, your personal success is often tied directly to the success of your business, meaning every little decision you make could have significant consequences.
Under such pressure, it’s natural to have worries and fears. But fears can intimidate you and obscure your judgment, rendering your decisions less logical and your approach less systematic. If you want to be an effective leader, there are five fears in particular that you’ll need to overcome.
1. Making the wrong decision
As a leader, you’ll be facing decisions on a nearly constant basis. You’ll make major decisions, like choosing your initial partners, and small ones, like whether to continue a proven promotional campaign. Being faced with so many decisions can lead to decision fatigue, a well-known psychological phenomenon that can interfere with your mental health and your ability to make good decisions.
Adding to this is a potentially growing fear that the next decision you make will be the wrong one -- your new hire won’t work out, your marketing campaign won’t be effective, or possibly even bigger, more significant fallout will occur. This fear can make you postpone or delegate your decisions, but don’t let it -- remember that even the best leaders make bad decisions sometimes. Avoiding a decision is always a worse move.
2. Being criticized for your approach
As a leader, you’re going to have your own signature style. You’re going to value some things more than others. For example, you might appreciate a rigid, formal dress code, or you could completely disregard what the people around you are wearing. You could prefer a hands-on style of management or a much more relaxed approach.
There’s no one right or wrong way to lead. If you’re afraid of being criticized for your approach, it could lead you to become the leader you think people might want rather than the leader you naturally are. You’re going to be criticized no matter what by some, and accepted no matter what by others, so pick the style that suits you best, and don’t let the haters interfere with your vision.
Read the rest of the article here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254107
As is my custom, I was reading an article the other day in TWICE; “The Internet Is Your Friend, Not Your Enemy.” The article was written by a well-respected CEO, ‘industry veteran” type who is quite capable. I perceive the goal of the article was to help brick & mortar retailers who constantly lament that the Internet is a significant cause of their business troubles. The article discussed the showrooming concept and how to make that work for the brick & mortar retailer. It talked about the need for a brand to have a significant Internet presence. It even discussed why it is OK for the brand to sell directly to the consumer and to brick & mortar retailers at the same time. I agreed with everything in the article. I was however disappointed by what was left undiscussed in the article.
I find this failure to identify the real issue and discuss it in frank terms most distressing and a little bit irresponsible. Kinda like pointing out that “the emperor has no clothes.” All his servants are afraid to say so for fear of reprisal, so they let him run around naked. It also reminds me of a man standing on a curb giving advice to another man standing in the middle of a busy street. The guy in the street is complaining that he is very likely to get run over if somebody doesn’t do something. The guy on the curb suggests to the guy standing in the street, “Look at the car driver’s eyes. If he sees you, he probably won’t run over you and you’ll be safe”. Not wrong advice. BUT wouldn’t better advice be something like “get the #$&@ outta the middle of the street!”
The point… The Internet is not the problem about which retailers lament! The problem is what brands allow to happen on the Internet. Before the Internet it was the gray guys in the warehouse district behind the bowling alley or the flea circus down the street or the guys in the back of the magazines. The Internet is simply the latest and most efficient tool.
In many cases, the brand has written agreements with its customers. The agreements often provide rules governing MAP, MRP, transshipping, at which address the retailer is authorized to sell, selling on the Internet, etc… So, the brand’s customer violates the Internet rule and sells at cost on the Internet or transships to an e-bay guy who sells at cost or, well you get the picture. What does the brand do in the way of enforcing its policies? NOTHING. Therefore the promise made by the brand to every customer who signed the agreement, follows the policies and expects that policy violators will be disciplined is worthless. (The brand’s un-written policy, “wink & nod,” is the subject of another issue.) The retailer is SURPRISED when his consumer “buys it at cost on the Internet.” Beyond surprise, now frustration and anger set in. Tears. Laments. Complaints. Threats. “Why I oughtaa…”
It isn’t the Internet that caused surprise, frustration and anger. It’s the brand partner’s failure to consistently enforce policy and create a more predictable business condition. I contend, if we seek to address a problem we ought to identify the root cause and advise “get the #$&@ outta the middle of the street.” Looking at one driver’s eyes leaves the guy standing in the middle of the busy street quite vulnerable to all of the other cars intent on running him over…
SURPRISE…? My @$$! We ought to know better.
I guess it is often tough and uncomfortable to have an honest discussion about a fact or set of facts. Some even consider it “bad form”’ or rude. I consider it necessary. Such a discussion might even be empowering…What do you think?
At your service,
Ray Windsor
Leadership Systems
For more helpful tips and tricks, check out Ray Windsor's YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/DrLarzfxXEs?list=UUSRfZAj45u8Wm_bksHPPM8A.
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