We define business frustrations as a series of specific recurring events in your business over which you feel you have little or no control.
Every business has frustrations. From small "hiccups" that hinder the flow of work, to fatal flaws that can have a devastating impact on the bottom line, and everything in between.
As it is with every challenge you face, the question is really about how you deal with it. You can ignore the frustration all together; you can abdicate and hope that somebody else will take care of it; you can apply a quick band-aid fix… But all of those options would be doing yourself, your team, and your business a great disservice.
I'd like to share this story about Michelle who owns a printing and design business. Michelle was having trouble finding the time to develop systems and processes because of constant interruptions from clients. She was getting so many project status requests that she couldn’t focus on the strategic work she wanted to do. Michelle told me that she was feeling frustrated by the fact that her customers weren’t relying on her support staff. She hadn’t taken any proactive steps toward fixing this situation because she was afraid that her clients had gotten used to working with her and she didn't want to jeopardize the level of service they'd come to expect.
There are three ways people typically perceive business frustrations like the one Michelle was experiencing.
For Michelle, her first inclination was Outer-Directed. And that's typical, we all have a tendency to blame other people. But if you ask the right questions you can move through the blame game and focus instead on the system solution.
Finding the solution to a frustration begins by asking the right questions. The questions that will enable you to discover what the true, underlying business conditions are.
For Michelle, it boiled down to the fact that her clients went to her for answers because they were never told to do otherwise and her support staff did not have the systems in place to regularly contact clients. In short, there was no customer communication system in place.
With a System-Directed frustration identified, you have the clues you need to begin understanding the underlying business condition that is the cause of your frustration.This will eventually lead you to the solution—a system solution. What Michelle needed to do was work with her support staff to create the appropriate communication system for clients.
Now her clients receive introduction emails from their assigned Customer Service Representative at the beginning of each project along with regular status updates until the project is completed. They improved their email signatures and website contact information so that clients can be clear about who to contact for what.
The result? Michelle estimated that establishing this client communication process freed two hours of her time each day. Imagine that! Two hours she can now put to very good use working on her business. Her support staff now has clearly defined steps to take to ensure clients have an exceptional experience on each project. The positive results from this system implementation just keep coming. And it was all born from a frustration Michelle couldn’t see a solution to before!
This process, the Key Frustrations Process, is a client favorite and is really about the essential skill of systemic thinking. It helps you look at problems and frustrations strategically to pinpoint gaps in your systems and processes that a new system or set of systems can solve. When you engage in this process with your team (you should include them!) you end up creating a powerful culture of strategic thinkers looking for ways to solve problems and improve business operations instead of an endless cycle of blame and discouragement.
How have you turned business frustrations into opportunities for systems development or improvement?
Louise C. says:
One of the things E-Myth has helped me develop is the "objective eye" needed to deal with work frustrations. It's hard to emotionally separate myself from issues that arise. It's hard not to feel like its all my fault. When I feel this way, its a great reminder to think about it from the perspective that its a system that's failing, not a person.
Submitted Feb 17, 2010 9:04 AM
Bill H. says:
The Buck Ends Here.
If you are the enreprenneur, you have to take the position of leader. Don't be coy! It IS your responsibility to lead and sometimes that is a hard road to travel. My staff trust me with the stewardship of a large part of their future, and their families' future. If I mess up, I beat myself up, just for a short while, put that behind me and start to make a plan. Think divergently, get input from all and sundry, think out of the box, and don't forget inside the box (it could be staring you in the face).
Ask yourself, if I was to start this business from scratch, and I employed everything I have learnt from the problems besetting me, and I was fortunate to have the best of my current staff and current clients and current suppliers and plant and equipment, how would I go about it, where are the barriers and how can I break them down?
Submitted Feb 17, 2010 11:17 AM
Sherman P. says:
Well this topic is like a nail on the head, today I receive notice that a contract was cancel within my business, and the truth of it is, is that I really am not concern since being enlighten by the "e-myth "awakening the entrepreneur within and the 'Revisited' novels, I outline each book and feel the information is so motivating that I have made up my mine to join the e-myth group. I feel strongly that this will be the path to much needed growth I am ready and willing to attain. I'm not concern with the news I've just receive except that I know where I',m going and I am feeling good about it.
Submitted Feb 17, 2010 9:27 PM
Deborah W. says:
I am a female dentist and at first this made it really easy for me to work in the front office: answering the phones, placing orders and many other duties I had no business performing. The people on the other end of the phone had no idea I was the dentist because I am female.
It wasn't until I realized I made my people feel unquailified and incapable that I turned over those duties to them... it was never about them and their quailifications it was about me and my need to have control over every aspect of my office.
Funny thing is I am so much happier now that I loosened the reins ...and a much better dentist.
Submitted Feb 18, 2010 7:19 AM
Keith L. says:
I find that these types of issues really sap my motivation and it is hard not to take issues personally or to blame others. The suggestion of makng the problem less personal by lookng at the failed system and involving other to develop a better system is easily overlooked by the business owner who typically runs to the "There is a problem - I'll handle it" tactic. We have spent a considerable amount of time moving away from this mantra and have seen some pretty good systems improvments not to mention an increase in moral and dedication.
Keith Larochelle, CFO
Submitted Feb 18, 2010 1:31 PM
Victor Y. says:
i am an entreprenuer from africa, i started my yoghurt business from the scratch. the business felt like a whole load of work, wondering how i can move it to a world class company status. everything began to make sense when i came accross the e-myth mastery on building a worldclass company.
This has helped me tremendously on how to work on the business and not in the business. Now i can travel, come back and meet the business running by reason of the systems that have been put in place.
Victor Yakubu, CEO/MD
Submitted Feb 19, 2010 3:48 AM
Greg B. says:
Good stuff. Just yesterday, I flipped out because my wife forgot to put the battery in my camera which is an essential tool for my business and I was 200 miles away when I realized it. It put a cloud on my entire day and I'm sure my customers sensed my less than dapper mood. After I calmed down, I realized I was able to use my phone for photos that day and developed a check list with my wife and I to use each day so we dont repeat the same mistake. Im new to the E-myth program and am working on the objectivity part. Had I looked at this objectively initially, my day would have gone much smoother and I wouldn't have had to sleep on the couch that night.
Submitted Feb 21, 2010 9:29 AM
Vi W. says:
I like it that this post addresses the cost of interruption as well as the generalities of overcoming frustrations by solving the problems systematically.
This advice can benefit everyone, not just small business owners. Blame never solves anything. Get to the root of the problem, and find a systematic solution.
Vi Wickam
Zello Partners
Online Marketing Strategy
http://www.zellopartners.com
Submitted Feb 27, 2010 7:28 PM
mary lou j. says:
I just completed a project that had a difficult employee as part of the team. She had been the center of disapproval (blame) at the client's site. I was proud of myself for determining what that person needed in order to be of assistance to the project. But after gaining her acceptance I saw that her problem stemmed from a bigger problem within the client organization.
It's one thing to overcome one frustration, quite another when the problem you are dealing with was created somewhere else or is embedded in a culture.
Sometimes there truly is someone else to blame and the solution to the problem(s) is removal of the responsible person. That was way beyond the project scope.
Submitted Mar 2, 2010 9:28 AM
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