Last week, I inadvertently sent my weekly email to myself instead of addressing it to the people on my email list. It was an oversight from my adaptation to a new CRM, and I deeply regretted it as it caused confusion and seemed unprofessional.
The funny thing, and I think you’ll relate to this, is my assistant texted me the minute she saw it and promptly said, “Why don’t you have me handle these emails?!” It’s a valid point, and I could come up with countless excuses, but the truth is, I’m deeply committed to personally writing you each week, ensuring timely and relevant topics are addressed. However, there’s often little time between my desire to communicate with you and when I finish writing.
As entrepreneurs, we tend to hold onto tasks, many of which, in retrospect, seem insignificant after a major mistake occurs.
This reminds me of a lesson I learned from my bakery business when I hired my first general manager. I used to come in around 9:30-10am, wash my hands, grab a cup of coffee from behind the counter, put on my gloves and then proceed to rearrange the display, adding pastries here and there to make it look fuller. This went on for months until the GM pulled me aside and asked, “Why do you rearrange the display when you come in?”… I replied, “To make it look more full.”… She responded, “After you’re done, it doesn’t look that different, and when you do that it undermines the work of the staff.”
That conversation was truly eye-opening for me. I realized that I didn’t want my actions to undermine the efforts of my staff, even though I disagreed with how the display looked after they handled it. From that enlightening discussion, we delved into my vision and the importance of a display that appeared abundantly stocked (as a person with Celiac, I understand the disappointment of seeing limited options). We explored the psychology of customers and their purchasing behavior. Together, we established parameters and designed a daily display plan, allowing me to let go of micromanaging.
So, while I won’t stop personally writing about timely topics that I believe will alleviate the chaos of running a business and bring you closer to profit and tranquility, I have decided to give my assistant the time to execute the email with her remarkable attention to detail and organizational skills.
Now, let’s turn this on you and your business. What tasks are you doing that someone else could do better? If you don’t know, start with my Time Audit sheet >>
Let me know what you discover!
Remember,
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he had “no good ideas”.
Abraham Lincoln lost eighteen elections before finally becoming president.
Thomas Edison endured 10,000 unsuccessful attempts before perfecting the incandescent light bulb.
And, there isn’t a record of a successful company history that was ever built by a single person.
Until our next communication, remember I’m only an email, text, DM, or phone call away.
Dedicated to your success!
Amanda
P.S.: I’m beta testing a new product, Flash Coaching, a unique, streamlined system designed with a busy schedule in mind. It’s a blend of self-paced learning (powered by a series of targeted videos you watch at your leisure) and unlimited high-impact 15-minute coaching sessions. This is a perfect way to dip your toe into what it would be like to have a business coach on your side. Intrigued? Let’s connect >>
