When the Owner Becomes the Bottleneck!

By Debbie Nicholson

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that we are incredibly good at talking about new equipment, finding qualified employees, pricing, competition, customers’ unrealistic timelines, and industry changes. (I’ll stop there).  Okay, one more thing: customers don’t value what we do!

That being said, we don't spend nearly enough time talking about one important piece of the business. The person sitting in the owner's chair.

Now, before anyone gets offended, experience is one of the most valuable assets a printing company can possess.  But experience can also become a liability when we start believing that the way we've always done things is the way they should always be done.

We can’t allow experience to be the excuse!

How many times have you heard a printing company owner say, "We've been doing it this way for as long as I can remember, and it's worked just fine"?  (Okay, okay, I’m sure I’ve said the same thing.) My question for you today: Is it still working?

Is the company genuinely growing? Is it profitable? Are employees learning new skills? Are customers excited about what we offer? Are we preparing for the business five years from now? Or are we just simply trying to survive another week?

Many owners are still making every decision, and they've unintentionally built companies that cannot function effectively without them. They approve every purchase. Question every estimate. Make every hiring decision. Override their management team(s). And then wonder why nobody takes initiative.  (Well, imagine that)

But guess what, folks: customers and competition aren’t waiting for you to catch up!

Here’s something else worth considering.  The printing industry isn’t standing still, and neither are the businesses purchasing our products.  Customers are finding new ways to market themselves, reach their audiences, and communicate their messages.  They’re looking for solutions they may not even realize a printing company can provide.  Yet how many owners are still waiting for the job to just show up, quoting the same familiar products, and assuming tomorrow’s business will look much like yesterday’s?  There’s a difference between running a printing company and recognizing where the next generation of print will come from.

Have you examined your business model lately?

• Do you truly understand your customer's customer and what drives their purchasing decisions?
• Are you paying attention to your competitors, and not just their equipment and pricing, but how they're positioning themselves now and in the future?
• Can your company operate efficiently and profitably without you?
• Are you developing the next generation of leaders within your organization, or are you still making every important decision yourself?
• Do you know which customers and products are actually making you money and which are quietly draining your profits?
• Are you investing as much in your people as you are in your equipment?
• Are you exploring new markets, applications, and revenue opportunities?

Maybe it’s time we stopped measuring our value as owners by how many decisions we make, how many problems we solve, or how many hours we spend keeping the company running. 

Perhaps the better measure is what happens when we’re not there.  Does the business continue moving forward?  Do people feel confident making decisions?  Are opportunities being pursued without waiting for permission?  If everything stops when the owner walks out the door, we may have fully identified the bottleneck.

Because leadership isn't about knowing everything.

It's about recognizing when what you know is no longer enough!