Why being good at something doesn’t necessarily make you qualified to help someone else do it.
I’ve got an engineering background, so I’m reasonably practical.
If I decided to start a carpentry business tomorrow, how difficult could it be?
It’s just wood, isn’t it?
Of course, that’s ridiculous.
You’ve got carpenters, joiners, cabinet makers and furniture makers. They all work with wood, but they have very different skills.
Being a brilliant furniture maker doesn’t automatically qualify you to build someone’s roof.
And being a fantastic joiner doesn’t necessarily make you a good cabinet maker.
It’s all wood, but the expertise is completely different.
So why do we so often overlook that distinction when it comes to running a business?
Being good at what you do isn’t the same as running a business
Most business owners start because they’re good at something.
They’re brilliant electricians, engineers, chefs, designers, builders or salespeople.
They understand their trade, know how to deliver something customers want and decide to build a business around it.
Then suddenly they’re responsible for recruitment, management, profitability, cash flow, pricing, delegation, leadership and a whole range of things that have very little to do with their original expertise.
And how do most people learn those skills?
Trial and error.
They make mistakes, work things out, try something different and gradually improve.
There’s nothing wrong with learning through experience.
But trial and error can be an incredibly expensive way to learn how to run a business.
Especially when those mistakes involve employees, customers, money or several years of your life.
Being successful doesn’t necessarily mean you understand why
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Just because somebody has built a successful business doesn’t automatically mean they understand why it succeeded.
Think about a naturally gifted salesperson.
They might be absolutely brilliant at selling.
But ask them to teach somebody else to sell, and they might be hopeless.
Why?
Because being good at something, understanding why you’re good at it and helping somebody else become good at it are three different skills.
The same applies to business.
Someone might have built a company worth millions.
But how much of that success came from their decisions, their circumstances, their personality, timing or simply a bit of luck?
And would what worked for them work for somebody else?
Having built a successful business doesn’t automatically qualify you to help somebody else build one.
Whose advice are you listening to?
Business owners are surrounded by people offering advice.
Accountants, solicitors, bankers, marketing specialists, other business owners and all sorts of people they meet through networking.
And many of those people are extremely good at what they do.
But being an expert in one discipline doesn’t automatically make you an expert in another.
An accountant might be brilliant at accounting. That doesn’t necessarily mean they understand how to develop your management team.
A solicitor might be an excellent legal adviser. That doesn’t automatically qualify them to advise you on your sales strategy.
And another successful business owner might have valuable experiences to share without necessarily understanding how to apply them to your circumstances.
Of course, some professionals have developed genuine expertise beyond their original disciplines.
The important thing is to establish that expertise rather than assume it.
Before taking advice, ask yourself:
Does this person actually understand the problem I’m trying to solve, why it’s happening and what might work in my particular circumstances?
Taking the trial and error out of running a business
Over the years, I’ve worked with businesses ranging from small owner-managed companies to organisations turning over £100 million.
Different industries, different owners, different challenges.
And what that experience has taught me is that the problem somebody thinks they’ve got isn’t always the problem they need to solve.
An apparent recruitment problem might actually be a management problem.
A sales problem might be a profitability problem.
And managers who won’t take responsibility might be working for an owner who won’t let them.
Recognising those distinctions can save an enormous amount of time, money and frustration.
My clients understand their businesses and industries far better than I do.
My role is to challenge their thinking, bring another perspective and help them recognise what they might be missing.
I help business owners become better at making their businesses better.
And a big part of that is reducing the expensive trial and error involved.
Because running a successful business is one skill.
Understanding why businesses succeed or fail is another.
And helping somebody else build a better business is something else again.
So the next time somebody offers you business advice, ask yourself a simple question.
Are they genuinely qualified to help me, or are they simply very good at something else?
Andy Walter
I help business owners build businesses that are easier to run, with less pressure and less stress.
Join us at the next Your Mastermind Group networking session.
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