Below is the latest Thinking Time article, Owner vs. Operator. This is the second in my 7-part series for you. I hope you are taking the time to actually sit down and do the work on these questions. I know for me, I am always amazed at the quality of my thinking when I shut everything off and really commit to the process.
In business, we all have four hats we can wear:
- Creative
- Operator
- Owner
- Board
All are required to produce sustainable results. The problem is most businesses are started and managed by entrepreneurs and management teams who only have one hat: Operator.
Creative – They live to create art and find producing it highly energizing. Most creative leaders would love to commercialize their work product and have millions of customers applauding its creativity and beauty, but they make the faulty assumption that the key to more applause and higher sales is tweaking the product or service.
An Operator is a great technician who adds value thru time and effort. The focus is on getting it done. Offense and optimism are the strategy, unfortunately these new ideas/opportunities can rarely be taken advantage of because there simply is no time…. Too much to do. The Operator is not running the business, the business is running you.
An Owner adds value thru leverage and measurement. Growth and control are balanced because the rules of delegation are being adhered to. An Owner is focused on making it and serves as a coach to her people. A good owner runs the business end of the business by doing the right thing at the right time. They know and use all the levers in the cockpit.
A Board is all about risk.
While Creative is “creating” it, an Operator is “doing” it; an Owner is “leading, structuring and leveraging” it; and the Board is protecting the business and keeping it alive.
A Board knows that championship teams always have a world class defence. The point of being in business is to sustain it, not just make it.
Asset Allocation and Risk Analysis are primary tools for successful investing and sustainable growth.
Thinking Time:
- Which hat are you wearing today?
- Which hat should you be wearing?
- Do you even own all four hats and if not, what are you going to do about it?
Thinking Time!
You can thank me later.
Baskar Sundaram
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