Over the course of time, it is easy to get into a state of ease, into a state of executing pre-determined actions (at least partially). While having a ongoing system of operation brings greater efficiency, it is imperative to review, simplify, and improve that system. Improving the system, really needs to be part of the system.
I have an important confession to make… I am prone to do extremely large amounts of work in a short period of time, followed by a period of rest from those labors. In a discussion I recently had with Jay Cormier, he mentioned that he felt addicted to the creative process, I understand the feeling. I love seeing the results of my work, and the work that I direct/pay others to do.
My own preferred creative outlets are writing and developing marketing systems/ideas. Since I believe that the benefits of business transparency are greater than secrecy (unless you have an extremely profitable trade secrets like Coca-Cola). Hence the reason I write on this blog with a great openness about Tasty Minstrel Games.
The Downside Of Creative Addiction
Just like any other addiction, being addicted to a positive experience can create obvious downsides. In my case, I think of different blogs I could write or have written and different side businesses that I could work on in addition to my full-time job as a financial advisor and operation of Tasty Minstrel Games.
Sure, these could be profitable and very well worth the efforts, but I have moved so far down the path with Tasty Minstrel Games (and this blog) that it would be immensely more profitable and fun to push harder on what is already working. Therefore, at this moment (and subject to change at the drop of a dime, because that is how I roll) I commit to the following:
- I will finish the side projects that I have created which are 95% done and can be executed without requiring ongoing maintenance.
- I will not start new side projects.
- I will not spend time thinking about how to expand within the board game industry. For right now, this blog and the operation of Tasty Minstrel Games are my ONLY two business building concerns.
- If I start to move into an area outside of the operation of this blog and/or Tasty Minstrel Games, then I personally give you permission to slap me. (Please be gentle)
There are just too many relatively easy things that I can be doing to make Tasty Minstrel super-exceptional, which I have not been executing on because I have been distracted.
Why Did I Get In The Addicition/Distraction Trap?
My uncle likes to say, “Excuses are like (insert appropriate body part here), everybody has one and they all stink.” I agree with him fully, that is why if I find myself trying to lean on an excuse, then I find a way to remove that excus and move forward.
My excuse, “I got caught up doing things I did not fully enjoy.”
That has to be one of the crappiest excuses around, especially considering I do many things that I do not fully enjoy because they have to be done! Despite this, the sentiment has merit. If you are in a situation where you are comfortable with good enough (and the income), then it is easy to ignore or slack off on the parts of running/growing a business that you do not fully enjoy. I know I did.
One thing that I do not enjoy, and I am not good at is project management. Sure, I can identify a whole slew of items that need to be completed, but for some reason making those things happen is difficult. Fortunately, my good friend and head of development at Tasty Minstrel Games, Seth Jaffee, is very good at project management thanks to several years of experience as a structural engineer managing projects in different stages.
Therefore, he is now in charge of making sure the trains run on time, and I let him tell me what needs to be done. Within the first week of the new responsibility, I can already tell that it was a very wise decision to make.
How To Get Out Of The Addicition/Distraction Trap
My addictive desire to create led me to move down so many different paths, that the net result for all paths followed could be mediocre at best. Mediocre is not going to cut it, if I want to realize the dream of being able to work full-time (or less than full-time without an additional full-time job) as a board game publisher. The only way to seize the dream is to be exceptional, and that will require the full brunt of my creative capacity.
It will also require that I concentrate on the areas in which I excel, leaving all others to be automated, outsourced, or eliminated. I obviously also need to concentrate on the area that I enjoy doing, or the other paths will look very tempting indeed. The answer is simple:
- Identify the set of skills and abilities that you have which you excel at.
- Identify the set of skills and abilities that you enjoy doing/executing.
- Do the things that are in both sets ONLY.
- Eliminate as much as possible that you do not enjoy doing, by doing the work once and making it available forever. A good example of this, is a FAQ which once created will eliminate a large percentage of the questions that people have.
- Automate as much as possible. A good example, are my Twitter and Facebook accounts. I recognize the importance of a social exposure, but I do not enjoy/excel at the work required (I am also unsure of the real $$$ returns). Therefore, I have integrated Google Reader so that if I click on the “share” button on Google Reader, then it will automatically send out Tweets and status updates.
- Outsource all other essential functions.
Outsourcing can look to be expensive, sure. I understand that many companies are bootstrapping just like Tasty Minstrel Games, and with much less initial capital invested by the owner (you). However, there are two solutions:
- Get inexpensive labor as it relates to Internet, design, and research tasks. I personally like to hire people from the Philippines as full-time workers (outside contractors rather than employees).
- Get outsource operations that work on a commission basis. These operations are less expensive upfront, which is a major concern when optimizing for cash flow and often will produce better results than set-fee services.
Tasty Minstrel Games is now at a point where I have to do little other than manage marketing, define the vision, and make final decisions. The net result is more productive and inspired results from me. Also, since I have experts in other essential areas concentrating on what they enjoy doing and excel at, their efforts are more productive and inspired.
Work With People That Are Smarter Than You
You do not need to be a genius to start and run a successful business. You can do this by identifying, leveraging, incentivizing, and drawing out the genius of others. This is the only required skill to bring a company to greatness. Henry Ford managed to create the first mobile assembly line, and have model-T’s take over the world. He did not compromise on things that would ruin the efficiency of production, “You can get a model-T in any color you want, as long as it is black.”
Most people found Ford to be an under-educated dummy, without the capability to answer even simple questions. At one point in time, he famously said (paraphrasing), “Why do I need to know how to do that, when I push a button on my desk and have a world-renowned expert do it for me?”.
Despite the only required skill to bring a company to greatness is to be able to identify and surround yourself with great experts, I would like to discuss skills that I feel are the best to have in addition to that (in order of importance):
- Marketing and Sales – Without sales, you have no revenue, and without revenue you fail…
- Networking – This ties in closely with the required skill, and will help you in this quest…
- Graphic Design / Programming – Having these skills will enable you to save a decent amount of money since you will not need to outsource quality work.
- Project Management – You need to make the trains run on time and ship product, therefore project management is essential.
- Accounting / Financial – This is an essential part of the process, and can be easily outsourced at different costs.
When Working With People Smarter Than You… Give Them Creative Reign In Their Field Of Expertise
Why pay for expertise and then proceed to instruct them how, why, and when to do things? The point here is to enable them to excel and operate independent of you as the owner. Of course, there needs to be an understanding about monetary expenses associated with their expertise and billable hours. If you let them run free and retain the final decision, you will get more and better results per dollar spent. Especially if you can provide a model or framework of how successful things have been done previously.
Conclusion
If you do the following things, you will increase your total success:
- Concentrate your efforts into the areas that you both ENJOY and EXCEL at.
- When you have an excuse, identify a way to get rid of that excuse and make things happen.
- Eliminate unnecessary and/or repetitive tasks.
- Automate tasks that can be automated.
- Outsource to people that are smarter than you the areas that you are not concentrating your efforts.
- Hire and work with people that are smarter than you.
- Encourage your smarter-than-you workers to do exceptional work.
- Reevaluate on a 2-4 week basis where you are concentrating your efforts.
Related posts:
- 21 Essential Posts about Board Games, Marketing, Business, and Efficiency
- Business – The Resource Management Game
- Building A Successful Business The Easy Way
- How-to Improve Your Sales Funnel With Facebook
- How Firm A Foundation…
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