Despite entrepreneurs liking to put themselves up on a pedestal of excellence, you’re still in fact a human being (at least for the time being until AI takes over your soul).  You’re still prone to the same mistakes humans have been making since existence, so here’s a refresher on three things to look out for in your own behavior and thought process when it comes to strategy and planning. 

Clock Management:   No matter how many times you get bitten by it, your inability to accurately predict how long something is going to take to completion (and the planning issues that result) never ends.  Entrepreneurs and newer business owners tend to continually overestimate their ability to get things done, while underestimating the inevitable issues that will occur on the way.

Dig deeper on yourself to understand your “Management Time and Brain Power” limits (a common theme in this article), and by doing so you’ll do a much better job of setting yourself up for success, both in your business and your own personal satisfaction. 

Solution:  At least have a plan on your estimates taking 50% longer.  If your next project is reliant on the current one’s completion, it’s good to understand what Plan B looks like. 

Better yet, do some deep diving on yourself and get realistic in your projections the first time around. 

Vertical Chasing:  Do you have an innate desire to put every aspect of your entire company all under one umbrella?  Bring every aspect of manufacturing in house, along with hiring a full time accountant and an entire content creation team? 

The good news is that you’re not alone, and the better news is that many times this makes sense, depending on the circumstance.  However, all too often this happens WAY too early, and founders end up spending valuable management time and brain power (the two most important commodities you have) focusing on managing tasks that didn’t require much management before.  

Hiring people with top notch self management skills is expensive, so you’ll probably be hiring mid level talent (at best) which inherently needs some hand holding.  Compound that with the fact you’ve never ran a company in their industry and therefore lack the depth of knowledge to streamline and manage like a pro, and we have the perfect recipe for a bad decision that didn’t need to be focused on to begin with. 

What should of been similar results for less has turned into subpar results for the same – or possibly more!!

Solution: Wait on these moves until you have your current divisions running so well that they are outperforming your benchmarks for success. 

Better yet, in many cases, just don’t do it. Double down on what’s working already and stay focused. 

PS: don’t confuse this item with areas of your business that simply HAVE to come in house at some point.  That process is always a challenge regardless, and you’ll know when the right time is. 

New Idea Excitement: One of the biggest joys in entrepreneurship is the ability to experiment, try new things and take risks.  I mean, who wouldn’t love this, right?  

Turns out plenty of entrepreneurs don’t, they just haven’t realized it yet.  Why? 

Because everyone is coming to you with ideas and you’re probably spotting opportunities every day if you have an eye for it.  YOU. MUST. RESIST. 

“If you’re not saying NO about 20x more than you say YES, then you DON’T have a strategy’.  

If you don’t adhere to some type of “need to say no” strategy, you’re going to of previously had a simple yet effective approach to business and turned it into a three ringed circus.

Solution: Try new things, have fun.  Do your thing.  But don’t get so wrapped up in it that you look back and your core offerings aren’t anywhere close to where they should be, due to “Management Time and Brain Power’ mismanagement as a result of chasing everything you see.  

Better yet, try just saying no to EVERYTHING for an entire year and only focus on what you’re doing now.  The results might surprise you. 

IN CONCLUSION

So there we have it, three extremely common behavioral issues for founders when it comes to planning and strategy.   If you find yourself struggling with any of the above, feel free to reach out and let’s see how we can work together on it.