You may be thinking, what 3 personalities every small business owner? Well this week I have been reading the E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber, and what a book it is!! I am not going to spoil it in any way for those of you going to read it, but is ESSENTIAL reading – yes essential reading if you are a small business or are thinking of becoming one.
I had heard about this book a couple of times over the years, but recently when two of my guests on Dream Corner asked if I had read it, I figured it must be worth reading, and soon. I ordered it last week Friday and it promptly arrived on Saturday! (Good ole Amazon!). I got straight into it and I’ve found it hard to put down! I know that sounds weird for a business book, right? But it’s true. I love Mr Gerber’s style of writing – very conversational, smart, witty and most of all, packed with so much valuable information. I am still reading it though – almost at the end which is remarkable considering I am such a slow reader!
The book highlights why most small businesses don’t work, and what to do about it. The one thing I’ll mention here that really got me nodding and chuckling to myself (in parts) is when he says that within every small business owner, exist 3 types of personalities:
The entrepreneur
The visionary, the dreamer who thought up the idea for the business and who the ultimate responsibility falls on; and who generally lives in the future.
The Manager
He/she controls and manages the day to day running of the business; and lives in the past.
The technician
The technician is the ‘doer’ – does everything else that the entrepreneur and the manager doesn’t ‘do’; and lives in the present.
According to Michael E. Gerber, all three personalities are at war with each other. This sounds odd seeing as this is one person we are talking about here. But when I thought it, as a small business owner, I am all of these 3 personalities – with the entrepreneur and technician personalities being the more domineering ones, overshadowing the manager, almost all the time. These personalities are bound to wrestle amongst each other, if all 3 are living in different time eras – past, present and future – you begin to see the challenge for most small businesses face!
Think about it for a second – if the technician feels the entrepreneur keeps ‘changing’ things from status quo; and the manager keeps telling him/her ‘what to do’ (which is what he/she wanted to get away from in paid employment!), a certain amount of resentment creeps in and gradually things start to fall apart.
I am not going to spoil it and explain any more, but I am hoping what I’ve said has intrigued you enough to go and buy a copy, or get one from the library or a friend. I know we are all very busy, but it is definitely worth it.
So what do you think? Do you recognise any of what Michael Gerber says in you? If you’ve felt ‘burnt out’, what did you do to get out of it? Would be lovely to hear from you.
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