Because we’re all humans with emotions, it’s only natural to spend more time on the topics that are comfortable and make us feel good about ourselves. It’s far less easy facing our uncomfortable truths about our company.
That trap is easy to fall into. But if you spend too much time in that trap you could cause your business irreparable harm.
Celebrating wins
Should you celebrate wins within your organization? Absolutely. Being in business is a very difficult thing. You have to celebrate the wins.
Celebrate them with your team. Talk about the win from start to finish. If the win is a new customer, have the salesperson tell your team the story of how he closed this new deal.
When you’re done celebrating, get your focus back to fixing the things that need to be fixed.
Scrutinize results
Your organization most likely has developed reports that give you insight into the performance of your business. Some examples include financial statements, sales reports, hiring reports, etc. You must be willing to spend the necessary time to scrutinize the results of these reports. What are they telling you?
Identify the answer to that question and act on it. If you identify a profit leak on your financials, stay on that topic until your group identifies a solution. The insight these reports provide and your willingness to act on them is how you contribute to achieving the company’s goals.
Fight for more
As a small business owner, your job is to fight hard every day for more productivity and a higher level of service. To do this, you must be willing to stay on the uncomfortable truths.
To be effective at this keep asking “why” until you get to the root of the problem. Then, ask, “What are we going to do about it?”
For example, you notice that sales are down 10 percent. Stay on THAT topic. Don’t let your sales team keep talking about the three customers they have added. That topic is the comfortable one that makes us all feel good about ourselves.
The three new customers is an emotion. The fact is sales are down 10 percent. Your team won’t want to stay on that topic but you have to keep them there. You keep them there until they tell you what you are going to do to get sales up.
W. Clement Stone, the founder of Aon, once said, “Everyone who achieves success in a great venture solves each problem as they came. They helped themselves and they were helped through powers known and unknown to them at the time they set out on their voyage. They keep going regardless of the obstacles they meet.”
The problems you will face as a small business owner are never-ending. Once you have identified the problem, enjoy creating a solution with your team.
If you can get comfortable with your uncomfortable truths and solving those problems, you will be one of the most profitable companies in your industry. That is a win worth celebrating.
Dennis W. Lejeck is the President and founder of Black Knight Security. Dennis is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence and has also participated in the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® program.
