“Feed me, Seymour!”
Do you feel like your success monster is out of control? Demanding of your time? Or distracting you from focusing on what’s most important? You’re not alone. For entrepreneurs, today’s VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) can be challenging. Whether you’ve become bogged down with details, caught up in fighting everyday fires, or have been preoccupied with the shiny stuff, you’ve probably hit the ceiling. It’s time to simplify your business.
You may be asking yourself “Wait…business can be simple?”
The simple answer is “Yes.” Let me explain.
Thriving companies grow quickly, just like Audrey II, the man-eating alien plant from Little Shop of Horrors. They require time, energy, resources, and focus to grow and bloom. Recall how Seymour, in an attempt to charm his female colleague, devoted all his time and attention to nourishing Audrey II. It became his only focus. Other plants in the floral shop began to wither away. The carnivorous plant grew quickly, garnering Seymour fame and notoriety with his clientele, but it turned out to be so demanding of Seymour that it became his uncontrollable monster – his own success monster.
Seymour needed to simplify.
As your organization grows, it naturally becomes more complex…that’s just how it goes. We call it “hitting a ceiling”. It happens when complexity outstrips your ability to manage it. Luckily, EOS has identified five leadership abilities to help you keep your success monster in check: simplify, delegate, predict, systemize, and structure. Although each of these abilities plays a vital role in your company breaking through the ceiling, let’s start with the first one, simplify.
Why is it important to simplify? We all know that overcomplicating a problem renders it damn-near impossible to solve. We’re not able to think clearly with loads of unnecessary or irrelevant information. We need to first identify and understand the issue before attempting to solve it. The EOS process of simplifying helps us to stay focused on completing the task at hand, as well as setting and reaching our goals.
Simplifying is about zeroing in on what you, your employees, and your company are doing well in order to manage and expand growth. It also means reducing the potential for error by improving communication, streamlining processes and procedures, and clarifying the organization’s vision. By using checklists, models, illustrations, and acronyms, EOS breaks things down to only what’s necessary. This helps to keep it simple, ensuring everyone understands the company’s direction and processes.
Keep in mind that complexity fuels your success monster. Less is more here. Ask yourself this key question: “Is this a simple as it can be?” If it isn’t, change it!
The next four blogs will outline the remaining EOS leadership abilities. For more information on how to simplify your organization, contact us or call Jim Wardlaw at (716) 970-4158.
Recent Comments