Remodeling contributor Paul Winans has some surprising tips for running a better business. He says that to be a better business owner, you need to become productively unreasonable, arrogant, and paranoid. Sound strange?
Winans explains:
Be Productively Unreasonable
Early on, the business is unconsciously tolerant of reasons and excuses about why things are not getting done or not getting done on time or on budget. The company is constantly trying to catch up and get closer to the goals it had set. But the reasons and excuses hold it back. There is little toleration for not achieving the desired results. No more reasons, no more excuses, just results.
Be Productively Arrogant
When the business is young it is desperate for work. Consequently, it works with clients who are not a fit. The result is lots of stress and not getting paid all that the company was due. Production is put into impossible situations. No one in the company is happy. As the business matures, the leaders and managers start to see who they should not work for. The company gets very clear about who can play in its sandbox and who can’t. The lead intake form questions get more refined. By becoming productively arrogant about who the company will work for, the business gets the right potential clients: those who are willing to follow the business’s way. And it gets the courage to tell those who are not a fit that they need to look for another company.
Be Productively Paranoid
As the business becomes more successful, it might assume that things are looking pretty good. So, the business relaxes its standards and expectations, sometimes a bit too much. Out of the blue comes a situation that catches the business off-guard. The result is that a lot of time, energy, and often money gets wasted dealing with a situation that could have been anticipated. By being productively paranoid, the company is grateful for the success it has achieved while looking over its shoulder for the unexpected. Instead of hindsight, it uses foresight in a deliberate way to reduce the impact of most unexpected events and situations.
