All You Have To Do Is Think Like An Employee. (So We’re Screwed.)

entrepreneur

entrepreneurMy Wife Is An Entrepreneur. She is at least as batshit crazy as I am. Most of our life she has felt the need to be the grounding rod to my lighting storms of lunacy.

She has, to date, failed at this. My utter lunacy and overwhelming propensity to leap before looking overwhelms all safeguards and damping engines.

She has done a lot of different things in her life. Read about how awesomepants she is. She has been an employee, the boss, manager, cop, dancer, brewer and everything in between. You do what you gotta do. She has had two jobs in the year since we have been back in the US of A. Both are with great companies. The first one she had the boss from hell and had to leave. Her current one is far better and her boss is pretty good. But as all jobs there is stress and frustration (read meetings) and a whole lot of NOT doing, stalling, postponing, NOT deciding and the rest of indecision’s hellish minions.

Today over sushi we were discussing ways she could overcome the inertia of indecision that weighs down the company (And so many other companies).  I was acting like her work coach and trying to guide her through the corporate speak, double talk and nonsense of the typical company (even the really good ones). I had quite a few ideas and insights that I thought might help her get more people out of the way of completion and on the gettin’ shit done team.

She was skeptical to say the least. Even the allure of a Holiday Sushi roll from Yummy Sushi could not fully distract her from the inanity of my statements. So I summarized it.

I encapsulated all of my advice and insight. I summed it all up. I nailed it. I said:

 

All you have to do is think like an employee, like all the other people there do!

 

I was pretty pleased as I had hit the proverbial nail on its elusive little head. I was right. My wife paused in mid bite, a tiny piece of rice on her chin and disdain in her eyes and replied:

 

Then we are screwed. I can’t think like an employee. I can’t NOT see the big picture and want to make it better.

 

I smiled ruefully, nodded and said, yeap, me too. We’re screwed.

By Andy Newbom

My name is Andy Newbom. At this time there are less than 10 Newboms in the world. Not sure if thats good or bad.