An Entrepreneur’s Perspective…
At some point, if you’re like me, you may have said to yourself, “I’ve made it. This company is stable, predictable. I can create money at will.”
But then, one of two things happens…
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- You start to meddle in the business, causing more chaos. Perhaps you think you need that chaos. Or…
- You think that what got you here will instantly work in a new business opportunity.
Neither approach will turn out well without understanding how what you do in an organization reflects what you do inside yourself. For example, the DISC Theory, originated by William Moulton Marston, an American psychologist, shows this to a certain extent. Remember that now D is for dominance, I is for influence, S is for steadiness, and C is for conscientiousness.
Individuals with a high D or I thrive in an environment of chaos; whereas, C and S individuals need more structure.
Your Default Operating System: Chaos or Structure
As someone who needs chaos, I must be keenly aware that it is my default operating system. While that system is valuable and beneficial, assisting me in arriving where I am now, it is only half the story. If I consistently push and drive everyone in the company to keep trying things, to keep failing, to keep breaking things, I reduce the capacity of individuals who require structure.
When I reduce their capacity, they cannot follow through with the same efficiency or complete tasks with the same confidence. They may burn out faster or resign. This is not dissimilar to if I, as a chaos-driven individual, am forced to do the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month with no chance for anomaly or for solving some type of problem.
In that situation, I, too, will have reduced capacity, reduced mental processing power, and will eventually burn out and look for another opportunity.
Finding an Employee’s Default Operating System
If you want to retain employees, you have to allow them to be their inherent selves. Better yet, strive to hire for individuals strong in chaos orientation or structure orientation, based on the position you need to have filled.
You can get a sense for who someone is from
- The interview questions you ask.
- Standardized assessments that reveal their operating style.
- An observation of their personality, energy, and body language. For instance, note which questions cause them to tighten up or to relax.
The goal isn’t to be a human polygraph machine, but to understand how they would naturally behave. Incidentally, William Moulton Marston, who originally thought of the DISC Theory, also invented the lie detector test.
Other Considerations for Entrepreneurs
Another point to consider is that the unconscious mind processes information faster and in a different way than the conscious mind. Specifically, the unconscious mind deals with patterns and can handle a larger volume of information. On the other hand, the conscious mind is more linear and logical. Its capacity for processing information is limited.
Why is this important? Well, you can have the most intelligent people in the world with high conscious processing abilities, but if they don’t maximize their unconscious capacity for processing information, the resulting friction point between their unconscious and conscious abilities can become insurmountable. I know all of this because I’ve lived it.
As an entrepreneur, I can say the hero’s journey circle essentially reflects my experience.
- Initially, I want to start a business.
- I start the business, usually as a salesperson in nature, because I love the chaos and stress of day-to-day activity.
- Over time, I realize I need more people.
- Those people bring in new structures, helping to transition from one level to the next.
- These structures allow me, at some point, to say that magic phrase, “I’ve made it. This company is stable, predictable. I can create money at will.”
Perhaps you’ve been there a few times yourself.
For Elite CEOs, Founders, and Entrepreneurs
However, the more elite CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs reach a point where money becomes endless. They realize that’s just the first circle around the hero’s journey.
Now, it’s time to recalibrate, to take the foundation of that framework that made you successful up to this point. And go back out to slay new dragons, to create more business opportunities. In my experience with businesses, this stage happens at certain revenue targets in specific markets.
There’s a zero to a million-dollar stage, then one million to five million, five to ten, ten to twenty-five, twenty-five to fifty, and fifty to one hundred million dollars. Given that what you do in your business reflects your inner self, each stage requires a new version of yourself.
For each stage, you need to
- Thrive in chaos again.
- Build systems around yourself and the new levels of business you create in order to protect yourself.
- Realize that once you’ve made it, the whole cycle will repeat.
Once you’ve stabilized, it’s time to push forward again. You can think of each business or each stage expanding through chaos and stabilizing with structure…over and over again.
Once you’ve adapted to this fluidity of business, you’ll recognize when you need chaos and when you need more structure. Along with that, you’ll recognize which people will be most suitable to help you navigate through each of these situations. Then you will have really “made it.”
Do You Want to Work With Ryan?
If you feel stuck in your career or want to take the leap into entrepreneurship, Ryan Niddel is ready to help you take control of your destiny. Ryan is not only the CEO of MIT45, but he also sits on the board of many successful companies. As a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader, he is passionate about helping guide those who want to improve their careers and personal lives. Learn more at ryanniddel.com.
