Is Your Business a Machine or a Garden? Watch Bradley’s video training on how to manage and grow your business effectively above, or keep reading…
“I WANT MY BUSINESS TO RUN LIKE A WELL-OILED MACHINE.”
Have you wished your business is a machine? Many owners like this concept. A machine is predictable: You know exactly what will happen when you push a button or pull a lever. But most importantly, repairs are straightforward. For example, when a screw gets loose, you tighten it. Or if a part breaks, you can order the same part to replace it. All of this is very attractive when your time, energy, and income are all determined by the machine.
However, expecting your business to behave like a machine is unreasonable for one simple fact: People are not machines.
PEOPLE AREN’T MACHINES
Your business relies on people. All businesses do! And fortunately, people can never become machines. They have original ideas, emotions, perceptions, and needs. Business machines are simply printers, computers, calculators, etc. They are created to do one job, and they will only ever do that job. However, people can be developed for new roles and responsibilities. If you’re committed to growing your team and hiring A-Players, then you know your team is more than a machine. You likely hired them to handle changing demands while performing to the best of their abilities. And while many people fear developing their team and then losing them, I’d like to offer a different perspective.
You are better with a team that is growing and developing than with a team that is stunted for fear of turnover. Is there a risk that someone will recruit a strong team member from your business? Yes. But consider the cost of a missed opportunity when you keep your team from growing into A-Players. You’ll accomplish so much more as a team if you invest in your team’s growth and development, whether or not they stay with you for their entire career.