Ways You Might be Obstructing Your Business

Trying to control EVERYTHING : Learn to let go sometimes. Some of the best things really do “happen” and not because you made them but because you created an environment in which they could. If you try to control everything rarely will good things be allowed to develop organically. Some of the best things that happen to businesses and entrepreneurs are things they didn’t anticipate.
Being Unprepared : It’s very easy to go to a meeting or attend a conference call or conference because you have to and not put a lot of thought into it before hand. But if you prepare ahead of time and have some specific things you want to take away from the event you’re much more likely to reap the benefits and not just waste your time.
Getting Too Personal : Easy to do if you are an entrepreneur or solo consultant but learn to keep a little professional distance. A lot of times people will warm up to you then try to take advantage of the friendliness to milk extra services. Getting too personal can also make you look unprofessional. There is nothing wrong with making friends along the way but go slow and choose carefully.
You are Too Wordy : There are few things worse than listening to someone explain the same thing 3 different ways without ever taking a breath. It also makes you sound like you are trying to BS them. A confident speaker is brief and cuts right to the point. They also speak at a level appropriate for their audience and don’t use too much jargon. Keep it short, there is no need to be verbose. For me this is an instant turn off to working with someone.
Obsessing Over the Wrong Details : Remember the 80/20 principle and that sometimes it’s 90/10 or 99/1. In other words, put your focus and time on the things that matter most and don’t obsess over details that will scarcely go noticed if at all. If you do not only will your productivity be low, you’ll spend 90% of your energy trying to make 10% of your money and are actually loosing money in the process.
Forgetting Your Priorities And Objectives (or not stating them clearly to begin with) : Set your priorities and keep them at the front of your mind. If sales is your biggest priority then focus most of your energy there. I see a lot of clients who’s first priority is revenue but they spend most of their time working on things that don’t make them money.
Hiring the Wrong People : If you haven’t read Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
go get it and then get with the program. The first thing you must always do in building your business is to get the right people on the bus. No matter where you are going or what you are doing, if you have the wrong people around you (and you usually know it whether or not you want to admit it) you are going nowhere fast and spending a lot of time and money spinning your wheels. Get rid of the wrong people (no matter how hard) and get the right ones in.
Negativity : Sometimes we disguise negativity through sarcasm or humor but it’s never professional and most of the time people see right through it. Save your sarcasm for your friends and keep a positive outlook, or at least project one even when it is difficult.
Withholding Information : It’s easy to get into the habit of protecting information to feel like you are protecting your job or your expertise but the reality is just the opposite. Information is more valuable when it get’s into the hands of a lot of other people. I’m not suggesting you give away your intellectual property but when it comes to the day-to-day of doing your job share information and create a culture of sharing and cooperation. Ideas need to be free.
Making Excuses : We all do it a little from time to time but should catch ourselves when we do. Excuses don’t do anyone any good and unfortunately, even legitimate reasons can sound like excuses so if you find your self “explaining” a lot for things not going according to play take a good hard look at the situation and your self. More importantly, help to build a culture where non-catastrophic mistakes can be learned from and people offer solutions rather than dwell on excuses. And quite frankly, there boring to listen to.
Spending Money on Things That Really Don’t Matter and Not Spending Money on Things That Do : Got this one from a great post by Mark Cuban for start ups. If you are a new or small business put your money where it matters and skip the stuff you don’t need. Good things: comfortable chairs, a quiet place to work, ample office supplies, fast computers and big monitors. Things to skip: logo apparel, fancy parties and espresso machines.