I attended
the special Course for Presidents, offered exclusively for alumni of this
flagship Aileron course, on October 1-2 of 2013 and –as it always does – it
sharpened my awareness and understanding of the importance of the Aileron
concept of “Professional Management” in business.
The very
interactive session with a wealth of entrepreneurship in the auditorium was
both a tribute and a salute to Dave Sullivan who has almost singlehandedly
shaped this Course for Presidents, but who is now stepping away to write a book
and focus on his private consulting practice. He received a five minute
standing ovation from the more than 50 alumni in his audience, all of whom have
greatly benefited from his teachings. The session was ably and pleasantly
co-facilitated by another Aileron star, Mary Connors.
The reason
that I want to write about this is because it reminded me of the importance of
“Freedom” in business. Although the business climate in America has become more
and more regulated over time, there is still no country in the world that I
know of where there is greater freedom to establish and run your own business
than the United States of America. At least no other country where the business
owner also enjoys the rule of law to protect his investment and achievements.
The freedom
that Dave Sullivan harped on in his swan song was another, equally important,
freedom. It is the freedom of the private business owner to shape and run his
business in accordance with his personal vision of what the business should
look like. It is also the freedom of the owner to decide what role he wants to
play in the business and how much of his time he is willing to dedicate to the
enterprise.
It struck
me, as I was listening to the very interactive discourse that took place at
this course for “retreads”, how many of the business owners in the room were
passionately focused on exiting or distancing themselves from the business they
own and –more often than not – have created. Not – to be sure – to rest on
their laurels or play golf for the rest of their lives, but mostly for two
reasons:
1.
To
let the team they had built, and that- if they have done it right- has better
and more complete skills and competencies than they have themselves, run the
show and not stand in their way;
2.
To
attend to other matters – and possibly other business – that need to be
achieved in order to follow their personal vision.
A small
business owner knows that he (I realize that in many instances it is “she”) has
done right if he has achieved the freedom to be as active in or as distant from
his business as he chooses to be. Dave Sullivan said it another way, more succinctly:
“Wealth is not just a matter of money, but also of free time, freedom of choice
and the opportunity to pursue your dreams.”
With freedom
comes joy and joy is a key measurement of success in business. If it is not fun
anymore, it is not worth it. It should be fun for the owner and it should be
fun for the people working in the business. If any of them constantly think –
and sometimes say – “I’d much rather be doing something else” they probably
should.
A business
owner who has not (yet) acquired the freedom to work on his business rather
than in his business has not finished the job and is not ready to move on. The
owner’s job is not done until he has built a business that can and will prosper
in his absence. The owner’s job is to provide the capital required to operate
the business, to establish the vision for the business, to create a business
culture in which his enterprise can flourish and to put together a management
team that can run the business. When all of that is done, there are almost certainly
people who are better qualified than he is to make the day to day business
decisions and it is time for him to cash in on his freedom to pursue other
dreams that are part of his personal vision.
