Behind every successful person, there’s an extremely good chance there’s a championship team working behind the scenes. Sure, the successful person has talent and does a lot of the work, but the most successful business owners and CEOs have a great team supporting them both as employees and as outside professionals. Look at great leaders of nations; they’ve got talented, high-level cabinets to guide them. Star athletes? They’ve got the best trainers and outstanding coaches building them up. The same is needed with your business. You might be the face of the business, the CEO, president, or whatever high-ranking title that’s on your business card, but you can’t do it alone. You don’t want to do it alone! You need the best players, the highest-level team of advisors you can get backing you up.
I like to use the example of the multi-million-dollar medical device company that I work with to showcase how vital it is to support your business with a strong team. They sold 51 percent of their business this past year. A great quality of the physician who started it is that he has surrounded himself with the best people from the beginning….and he listens to them! I’ve worked with him for 20 years, and he’s consistently looking for the best people: employees and outside professionals—a “Championship Team of Experts”—and has always been on top of the detail in his personal and business financial plans. I know this from first-hand experience. Every time I sat in on a meeting with him and his potential business buyers, they would ask him for information and he knew every answer. These buyers were floored. One of them even said, “It’s very rare for us to meet with someone on the other side of a business deal—especially a physician—that’s this well-informed.” This physician gave credit to his team (as he always does). They prepared him and explained the reasoning behind a lot of their advice. Having this “Championship Team” can even translate into a higher buying price and more generous terms for your business. And sure enough, this physician got the highest price the buyers ever paid for any business they acquired.
While it may seem like common sense to have a championship team of experts helping you, it’s not. Some of the reasons might surprise you. It’s not that business owners don’t want help, it’s that they’re scared to trust the wrong person. They’ve been burned by prior experts and advisors in the past. But to be honest, who hasn’t been burned in the past? Another reason is hesitation to replace old buddies, college friends or relatives that have been with the business owner a long time and tell them their services are no longer needed. Buck up. Do you want to work longer/harder and have less wealth because of the deficiencies of your team? I think not.
Other concerns I hear are: What kinds of experts are actually needed? What is the best way to find these experts? How much will these people cost? The answer is simple. Through a thorough and proper interviewing and vetting process. You might want to read Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street for hiring good staff. Do the same for the people who you choose to use as external experts, as well. They don’t have to be the most expensive to be the best.
In addition, as a business owner, you can let your experts run you or you run them. Find the strength to make tough or difficult decisions. Don’t just put your head down and hope for the best. This is a bad way to run your business.
For more information about why you need a successful team of experts to help you reach your business goals, visit alzdenek.com.
