Isolation From Ourselves

The underlying problem is that the entrepreneur has become a kind of shell of himself—a shell of the person who first started the business. Usually, we come to our new businesses with a passion and the dedication of everything in us—our minds, our hearts, our ideas, our creativity. And we draw on all these resources built up previously—our ideas written in the middle of the night, our dreams of a better future, our hope to fulfill the meaning of our lives, our training and education. We draw on the full spirit of who we are and what we are meant to be. But by the time we confront our isolation, this fullness is gone. Rather than large, full beings defining a business opportunity and a dream for a life, often the business has begun to define us. It sets its limitations, defines the circumference of our community of relations, even tells us who we are through all the feedback mechanisms previously addressed. Hence, the isolation at the center of this problem is not so much isolation from the world and other people; the core is that we are isolated from ourselves. In essence, we have nothing left to give to our businesses.

 

The Gut in Isolation

In my experience, this barren inner reality quickly becomes desperate, wild, and collapsing in on itself. You see nothing around you, but then begin to imagine all kinds of things. Sometimes this leads to mild paranoia, fears of being undermined, wonderings about whether or not you can do this. Often, entrepreneurs in such situations try to “get back to basics” in trusting their gut, but they fail to realize that the gut in this isolated situation is as likely to betray as it is to help. The entrepreneur does not really have access to the gut because of the isolation, and instead is making what Kevin Clancy refers to as testosterone driven decisions. Such decisions rarely turn out to be good for the organization.

 

Barren Inner Reality of Isolation

Isolation creates a barren inner reality. You lead your team charging into the unknown forest, and you keep going and going until you realize that it has gotten quiet behind you. You pull your horse, turn and look, and realize you are deep into that forest, and you are all alone. No counselors, no friends, no map, indeed, no path. Just you, the forest, and your horse. For many, the problem appears just that abruptly.

 

Business & Employee Friendships

One can consider it a sign of isolation if you count your closest friends as employees, customers, suppliers or family. This is not to say you cannot befriend such people. Indeed, friendships developed out of business relationships have been some of the most rewarding, enduring, and interesting relationships of my life. But if most or all of your friends are within these circles, there is a good chance you are getting isolated.

 

How We Isolate Ourselves

Here’s the problem. The larger your organization becomes, whether it is two people or ten or twenty seven, it gets increasingly complex and difficult to deal with. Make or break decisions are being made every day, especially if you are growing fast. Yet the people you spend every day with—your customers, employees, and even your family—either cannot or will not understand your situation. Internal business decisions cannot be openly discussed with customers. Employees can’t really be consulted about a whole range of issues, sometimes legally, and sometimes because exposure to even the consideration of alternatives will reduce their confidence in you as a leader, or in their position within the company. When they lose confidence, you risk either losing them or undermining their ability to perform. Your family or spouse may be very interested in your success, but as they confront their own issues every day, usually which are very different from yours, it takes enormous time to explain the situations, and even then, often they do not or cannot understand simply because they are not living it and do not know the subtleties the business owner confronts. And yet, these are the people you spend your time with. (more to follow)

 

Hidden Cost to Success: Isolation

Isolation is one of the great hidden costs and realities of small business success. Once that success rocket starts, the new entrepreneur is faced with the reality that he or she is constantly facing challenges and problems he has never dealt with before. At first, as a sole participant, it’s not that different from a job. But it all starts to change with employees and movement toward success. (more to follow)

 

The Most Limiting Feature of a Small Business: The Entrepreneur

Many hard-nosed entrepreneurs may pooh-pooh this inner work as soft. But remember: the single most limiting feature of a small business is the entrepreneur himself. Whether you take the path into the deep inner self, or simply use the temptations to avoid certain pitfalls in your business, the ideas herein will help you to succeed. Today, we need entrepreneurs to succeed to create jobs for the economy, and we need green entrepreneurs to succeed to provide jobs and improve the way we live.

 

Trusting in Greater Guidance for You and Your Business

There is an ultimate trust in the world, in God, in the greater being however you see it, that we must bring with us into business for sustainable success to occur. The world and your business may not lead you where you think you want to go, but it will lead you somewhere that is right for you. Have that trust, and the fear will subside. It is the only effective tool of which I am aware.

 

Dealing With Our Fears: Strength, Determination and Willfulness vs. Courage and Trust

Courage, then, comes with trust. It is the courage to undertake the effort, despite fear, despite an inability to control the outcome, despite the unknown. One is tempted to think that strength, determination, and willfulness are the ways to overcome fear. But this is not so. These approaches skillfully cover fear, and temporarily disempower it so that you may go do what needs to be done. In that way, these gifts have their place. But ultimately, when employed against fear, one comes face to face with the fear again—in the dark of night when no one is looking, during your drive to work, or while on vacation fretting instead of relaxing—when the primary tool is ego-strength.

 

What Fear Can’t Break: Trust

If fear is one of the awful temptations of the entrepreneur, trust is its cure. Trust is the recognition that business success and business failure may have consequences that one would prefer to avoid, but that whatever happens, the outcome is acceptable and okay. You may lose half a million dollars like I did, but the experience was important and formative and full. It’s just part of life. And although the consequences are not what I’d hoped for, I still eat, live in a home, and play with my kids. I trust the world and I will be okay, whatever business life throws at me.