When you drive a car, you must be in control of the vehicle. You know which part that you need to push harder, press less of turn on the right direction. You are in control as you are able to reach out to all control devices in your car including the pedal and steering. You can see clearly the dashboard, which shows the level of gas you still have.
By sitting in the driver’s seat, you know that you are in control. You will only allow those who have driving license and the skill to drive the car when you want to let go the seat. Once you know that he has better control of the car as the driver, you may be confidently let him drive you around for longer.
In business, as you manage you r company and building it, you need to be in control. You must established the ‘dashboard’, which tells you the status and condition of the company that you are leading. Being the CEO or the Managing Director of your company means you are sitting in the driver’s seat.
Being obsessed of taking control in what happens in your company is a good thing. If the business owner does not want to take control in his own business, someone else in the company will. Having control does not mean to do everything in your own, but rather to be able to control the environment that he is in. Take an example of a company. How can a business owner control the environment in the company?
First, it starts from the people he takes in. Just as the driver whom you choose to drive you around, you will be obsessed to take charge for the people you will bring in.
If you cant’ fire the underperforming staff, do you still think that you have control?
If you can’t hire new staff to replace the non-performing staff, do you really have control?
If you can’t determine what kind of people you should bring into your company, what kind of control are you having?
Second, it comes with all the access of information about the company. Just as in the car that you are driving, you must have the dashboard working for you to drive. It gives you information by showing certain numbers too. Therefore, what kind of control mechanism do you have in your company?
If you don’t have your financial reports ready every month, do you still think that you have control?
If you do not know how to read the numbers in the reports, do you still think that you have control?
If you can’t determine the numbers that your company should achieve, what kind of control are you having?
It is fine to tell the world that you are in control of your business. You will never want to let the social media to take over of what you have been building for years. You may not want others to write the success story of your own business. It is good that people know you want to have control in your business.
You can be a leader and lead your company. But, there is no point leading, if you do not have the control. Being able to control your environment, enable you to be safe in the journey that you choose.
