The three effects of time

In business as an executive or a manager you transition through three different stages of development. When you first start in your business or job you are in the WORKING stage and you learn by practice that it is better to work on your business than in your business. Through this working stage you graft away learning all the things you need to know and then setting up systems to make these things happen smoothly - well at least as smooth as you can. Once you recognise the $10 an hour jobs and you can afford it - you pay someone to do these jobs for you so you can get on and do the $1000/hr job. This is known as grow your business and maximise your leverage.

The second part comes once you have been in business for a while and your knowledge starts to grow as does your confidence. You learn the VALUE stage. In this stage you understand the value you bring to your staff and clients and the differences you can make. It is important to value these things UP so as to keep motivation high. In my experience Valuing up is not done well amongst New Zealand business owners or executives and it is time we got over this and really valued up what we know. A client recently told me that they felt a little intimidated when telling and showing people such as Lawyers and accountants about the services they offer. He made an assumption that these people should already be familiar with his type of service. My response was immediate - "you are a specialist in your area of expertise - Lawyers know about the law, accountants know about accounting, value up your specialist knowledge because it is a unique way of approaching a common problem". My first major corporate speech was to a group of lawyers and I had prepared very diligently for this presentation. The technical terms were in their as well a good deal of assumption that they would know what I was talking about. It became very clear they had no idea what I was talking about so my notes went in the bin and I talked to them in way that could be easily understood. They were lawyers and what would they know about executive health and fitness, and if they new about it why would I be standing there talking to them. I did not value up enough about my knowledge and recognise that even smart people can be educated and I could this.

After a much longer time you learn about PERSPECTIVE - your thoughts and urgency's and anxieties change with time. As a young self employed consultant I used to fret about getting enough work and where would it come from, got to pay the bills and make ends meet aaahhhhh!!!!! Now my perspective has changed. This is because I have done the work and I still work on my business and I value up what I know and I back myself to deliver. I ask myself once a month "If everything turns to shit tomorrow what is the worst possible thing that can happen"? I will go and get a job and still pay the bills and feed the family. The stress is not there now because my perspective has changed due to my experience and due to the transition from work to value.

Where are you and your team on this simple three step scale?