According to Michael Gerber’s E-Myth book, business owners need to possess three distinctly different personalities if they want to attain the greatest level of long-term success. Ironically, these three personalities have some conflicting traits.
The three personalities I am referring to are Entrepreneur, Manager and Technician. All businesses, including family farms and ranches, need a good balance of all three. Unfortunately, small businesses do not have the means to hire three people that excel at these different personalities. Consequently, it is difficult for most family farms and ranches to achieve the greatest level of long-term success. It may be difficult – but it’s NOT impossible!
We are all capable of operating under all three personalities. However, since one deals with the past, one deals with the present and one deals with the future, it’s difficult to operate under more than one at a time. I suggest you read the definitions below and decide where you spend most of your time and then decide what your business is currently most in need of. As time goes forward, the needs of your business will constantly change.
Technician: This is what most farmers and ranchers excel at. They are doers. They live in the present – and like to be immersed in everyday work. They don’t like change or new ideas – and they don’t like to think about the future. They often seem to be happiest when doing work that could be done by minimum-wage laborers. Consequently, they are not making the best use of their time.
Manager: While a technician works IN the business, a manager steps back from the everyday work and works ON the business. They like to plan and organize. Since their work is based on the past, they love the status quo. They crave order – and hate change. Managers are good for business sustainability – but not for business growth.
Entrepreneur: This is what I believe is most lacking in nearly all small businesses – including family farms and ranches. Entrepreneurs are visionaries, dreamers and innovators. They live in the future – and make things happen. They crave change. Entrepreneurs are essential for business growth.
Most businesses operate according to what the owner wants instead of what the business needs. When the technician is always running the show, the business becomes the boss. In his E-Myth book, Gerber says, “If your business depends on you, you don’t have a business; you have a job – and you’re working for a lunatic.” I can relate to that. Can you?
If the entrepreneur is always running the show, you won’t get any work done because you will always be chasing after the next big idea. If the manager is always running the show, you will get so caught up organizing all the projects that the work itself won’t get done – and there will be no thought about what comes next.
YOU CAN BE what you need to be! With practice you will get better and better. Without the entrepreneur to lead and the manager to supervise, the technician would work until he or she drops, only to wake up to work harder the next day. Your business needs a healthy dose of all three personalities to achieve and maintain maximum levels of success and happiness!
Quote Worth Re-Quoting
“An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew – hoping he will quickly learn how to chew it.” ~ Roy Ash