CDO Consulting

SMEs are often led by real artists. Being in charge of such a structure can mean the accumulation of roles: management, sales, production, development, finance, administration and marketing. But how can you do everything?

When you want to, you can!

Here we have a slogan that has been repeated down the years. If we were to compile a list of unnecessary and dangerous slogans, this one would undoubtedly be among the top 10! Why? Because on the one hand, this glib saying completely excludes the possibility of efficiency and secondly, it infers that without motivation, success is not possible. One additional myth we need to break is: "Motivation - or nothing."

We propose another vision encapsulated by the "please" efficiency model: "When you know how to act appropriately, you want to act and you can act because you have the means to do so, you can be said to be efficient."

Knowing how to act requires a significant commitment in itself. In any given situation, you contribute directly to your effectiveness if your knowledge and actions are appropriate and if your behaviour is suited to the situation. The qualification "right or wrong" of knowing how to act should be replaced by "suitable or not" for the situation.

All these three components contribute to efficiency, and therefore to success. Using this model, you can analyse different situations in which you have been effective. You should see that you are effective in different ways that depend on context!

It is no longer about being motivated, competent or having the necessary means, but rather about developing the intelligence to play with these three elements.

Differentiating hyperactivity and efficiency.

Definition of efficiency: "said about an action that leads to useful results." Faced with multiple demands and expectations, our SME manager develops a will to best meet what is required of him to the best of his ability. We need to maintain a clear view as to his efficiency. Being overloaded with work does not necessarily produce efficient results.

The model can still be useful in an important way - where you hear someone saying "I know what to do, I want to do it, but I can't do it." The risk in this situation is one of placing oneself in the role of "victim" - a victim that doesn't exist. Indeed, maybe I didn't use the right behaviour or skill (Know how to act) in relation to the situation? In this case I bear direct responsibility for the failure - but the good news is that I can decide to change something on my "Know how to act" to see if I gain more efficiency!

Investing a little time thinking about this is well worth it in order to drop pointless habits of overworking, often wrongly accepted as evidence of worth.

What talents for what roles?

Each individual has gifts and talents of their own. What are they and how do you know how to give voice to them in the roles you give yourself? The advantage of this awareness on the distribution of your strengths is to validate the choice of roles that you delegate or you choose to keep for yourself. This ability to focus on your strengths is a good way to keep motivation going.

Enhancing strengths, simplifying the rest.

Worrying about one's weaknesses is a harmful cognitive dynamic, often reinforced by a culture of guilt for not being perfect. Rather than resolving their limitations, too many people compensate by hyperactivity.

At the other extreme, ignoring one's limitations only brings about frustration and repeated failure. The mythomania of one's own "excellence" leads to chronic victimisation, as seen in the systematic projection of a problem onto "another", or onto the "system", etc.

The right balance to strike is: understanding how I work allows me to effectively anticipate my own limitations. Then use the systematic nature of human development - one of cultivating strengths and therefore leading to progress on one's weaknesses. This strategy will accelerate results and further enhance self-assurance on one's natural functions. With regard to personal limitations, this is about being creative to simplify or modify one's strategies.

The Jungian approach (CG Jung, Swiss psychologist, who died in 1961) is one of the references that we work with very successfully. Highlighting our natural predispositions is just as important as understanding those we have developed through learning and copying. The effort made in "natural" and "learned" actions is not the same.

The final hurdle to overcome is that of our social, cultural and emotional habits. It is true that although simple solutions are sometimes available to make our lives easier, nobody said it was easy to use them! Daring to break one's habits is to confront the unknown, spontaneously, expecting new solid results.

Look after yourself.

Hyperactivity, hyperstress and hyperengagement. These behaviours are often seen in the average "one-man band" - the SME manager - highlighting the importance of regularly checking that the accumulation of stress does not erode self-confidence, self-esteem or one's own balance. We can't say it often enough that unnecessary somatisation through overwork is all too common today: sleeping problems, digestion, back pain, excessive irritability, extreme focus on work, etc. Personal development is a real part of life that everyone can use to further their own self-reliance, free will and ability to do nothing that is of no use.

What is the ideal small business owner?

Talented and entrepreneurial, more than others they choose to develop knowledge of their limitations in the face of risk. They know how to take the necessary perspective to anticipate, and are able to manage their work over time and adapt quickly by staying focused on their true talents - they are capable of lasting the distance.