When I started my bike business, KindHuman Bicycles, I made a fundamental mistake that has haunted me for twelve years. I put vision before traction. And this one mistake cost me my freedom.
For twelve years I have been a slave to my business. Don’t get me wrong, I love my business and am beyond passionate about it. There was a time when I proudly exclaimed that “I will go through hell to make this work.” And guess what… that’s exactly what I did.
Going through hell to make my business work doesn’t make me a hero. It makes me a fool for I struggled unnecessarily on the right things at the wrong time.
Doing the right things at the wrong time is a recipe for frustration. For me, I was certain that I was doing what I needed to grow my business, but I wasn’t getting where I wanted to go. And this wasn’t for a lack of effort or ability.
The order of things I messed up was that I focused my energy first on what I needed to do before figuring out who I need to do it.
The correct order is first who, then what. This concept comes from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. To build a great business you need disciplined people, with disciplined thought, taking disciplined action. In that exact order.
In EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) we do the same thing. We obsess over building the Accountability Chart (an organizational chart on steroids) before we complete the vision. First who, then what.
If you are like me, then you might be struggling with this order. What I hear most of the time is “how can you know who to hire when you don’t know what you want them to do?”
The answer to this comes from another great book, Who Not How by Dan Sullivan. This book describes that when you find the right who, they will know how to do it. You could bang your head against a wall struggling to figure out the what and how to accomplish it. Or you can find someone with the right experience and natural talents for the task at hand. Also… In the process of figuring out the right who's… you gain tremendous clarity on what you want them to accomplish.
This brings me back to the main point of this article. I want my freedom back. I want the freedom to spend as much of my time as possible working on things that I absolutely love and am amazing doing. This is how I create the most value. For me, this is bringing EOS to people and organizations that make the world better. It’s being the Visionary at KindHuman Bicycles but not its Integrator. I know what I want… but I first need to find the right who so that together we can achieve it.
This is simple, but it is not easy. And that is exactly why I need your help. For you just might be the who to help me find my what.
If you you know someone who loves building and executing business plans, creating great and enduring companies, and is deeply passionate about the cycling business, then please reach out to me as I can really use your help.
More details about the right who that I am looking for can be found here: https://www.kindhuman.cc/pages/operating-partner
There are two distinct types of leaders in entrepreneurial businesses: Visionaries and Integrators. Most founders are Visionaries. Integrators are the people who bring their vision down to the ground and execute. After years of frustration, I am finally ready to let go of the vine and find my perfect Integrator partner. This has not been an easy journey for me, but once I find the right who, we’re going to do some pretty amazing things together.
Learn more about the Visionary Integrator relationship and how to create Rocket Fuel at https://rocketfueluniversity.com/
About EOS
EOS is a simple, complete and proven system for running a truly great organization. As an EOS Implementer, I help my clients create organizational alignment, execute with accountability and discipline, and work together as a healthy team.