How to create a measured approach to your work by inviting three voices into your head.

A version of this was shared in my Learn Something New(sletter) with a bit more fun details. Don’t want to miss the next one? Subscribe now.

Let’s leverage learnings from those who run businesses and applies them to real life. No, these learnings are not going to include a daily ice bath and 7-mile run before you have a raw breakfast prepared by your personal chef. I’ll leave that to the world of LinkedIn influencers.

Many of those that I work with are either running their own business, or, they’re in a position of seniority that requires they consider the entire organization as their own baby.

We’ll be learning from E-myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber today. I’ve read this book (twice), and there’s one real take away that’s my absolute favorite part of the entire book. I’ll get into it below! If you’re in the process of attempting to build a scalable and sustainable business, you might enjoy it. It’s a tad stuffy and has a taste of “this is the only way,” but that’s why I read this stuff and pull out the best parts!

You’re welcome.

Okay, it’s time for my favorite part of the book. The realization that there are three components of self to create a strong business or work legacy: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Technician. Often, we lean towards 1 or 2, but for real, continued success, we have to find time and space for all three (and consider hiring or delegating in the spaces that we’re less attune to!)

Who are these three entities?!

The Entrepreneur lives in the future. They’re focused on the “what if!” The vision. The joy. The risk-forward. They why not! They’re the voice in our brain that has an idea of how to take the company to the next level.

The Manager lives in the past. They’re focused on how things work. How to make things efficient, scalable, orderly. They consider the bottom line, the potential risks, the complexity and dynamics of scale. They may want to keep things stable, consistent, and avoid change and potential errors.

The Technician lives in the current. They’re focused on actually getting the dang thing done. They understand the ins-and-outs of completing the actual tasks that make the business run. They’re the hands, the real work, the getting it out the door.

Here’s the kicker: all three need to work in tandem, but they don’t like each other

The Entrepreneur is frustrated that the Manager doesn’t want to change. The Manager is annoyed the Technician can’t move faster. The Technician is irritated by the new ideas the Entrepreneur keeps adding to their plate when they’re barely making it through the current tasks they have to do! The Entrepreneur is bugged that the Technician isn’t willing to get their hands dirty and just jump into excitement. The Technician finds the micro-management and slowness of the Manager infuriating. The Manager thinks the Entrepreneur is absurd with wanting to jump into the future.

And all three live in your head.

You might resonate with one more than the other. Maybe you were the Technician and a taste of Entrepreneur made you want to go freelance, but dang it’s hard to be the Manager and deal with proposals and accounting. Maybe you’re the Entrepreneur, and you’re ready to leap but haven’t taken on the skills you need as a Technician to do the thing. Maybe you’re the Manager and need a bit of Entrepreneur to push yourself into trying something new.

It’s essential to see which one resonates with you, and give your brain the space to try on the others.

Because we need all three to succeed in our work.

You can be CEO-Entrepreneur, but if you don’t understand the technical work or the complexity of truly running a business, you’re going to tick off your team and investors.

You can be the heads-down Technician, but if you want to rise up the ranks, you’re going to need some entrepreneurial flavor or management support to take that next step.

You can be the Manager, but you won’t build the team you want without having the vision of the Entrepreneur, and the deep understanding of the Technician.

If you’re noticing that you lean towards one of these entities more than another, and want to work on creating a more robust holistic approach to your business or work… you know what to do.

Dive deeper: Read the book yourself:  E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About it  Sign up for his training:  RadicalU