If you ever wanted to build a business, the art of delegation is a critical skill to learn.
But is this really true? – you ask. Can one not build a fully automated business with technology that needs no employees?
Possibly. But I would challenge you to show me a business that keeps adapting to today’s rapidly changing environment and evolving without people doing that continuous strategic adjustment work.
Perhaps AI will be able to replace big-picture thinkers someday, but that’s the stuff of Terminator movies, where humans no longer dominate the planet. For now, strategic thinking remains in our hands.
Theoretically, you can develop a product yourself and sell it to a big company to scale. But I’m not aware of a single example where the owner of a one-person company made a significant payday.
One possible reason is that the proof of concept needs a large number of users—something a solopreneur can’t easily amass. Further, if no one else knows the ins and outs of your product, you’ll be stuck with the business even after it’s sold.
There’s no escaping delegation if you want to create a thriving business.
Delegation is also the engine of leveraging yourself. By delegating tasks and responsibilities, you free yourself up to focus on higher-value activities that will allow the business to grow and create more value.
You’re only growing as an individual by stretching yourself, which can be uncomfortable and even painful. The discomfort comes from doing things you’re not yet good at while giving up the comfort of work you’re already an expert in, by letting someone else take it on—even if they’ll likely stumble at first.
If everyone is stretching, the organization is growing. Of course, the stretching must be managed to avoid injury to the business.
When delegating, you can choose to delegate the process, the outcome, or a combination of both.
Delegating the process works best when the person you’re delegating to has limited experience or doesn’t want to figure out a better way. These employees will welcome a blueprint to follow, so they don’t waste time figuring things out and can execute a proven system. This is how most franchises are managed and works well for people who excel at following steps without the desire to reinvent the wheel.
On the other hand, delegating the outcome is an empowering approach for those who like to tweak and improve things. This method encourages innovation and buy-in from driven individuals who want to create just as much (or more) than they want to implement.
However, you must carefully manage R&D time so that execution doesn’t get delayed or exceed your budget. This approach works best for people who are willing to experiment and find better solutions, often on their own time, for the pride they take in their work.
One of my former partners at MB Partners, Robert Janos Nagy, epitomized product innovation and process improvement. Over the years, Robert helped us significantly enhance the quality of our work.
Be cautious about delegating outcomes to people who thrive on structure and process. For them, delegate the process, but make sure the outcome is clearly specified.
For the best results, combine both approaches. Give your team a blueprint, but empower them to improve upon it, as long as they achieve the desired outcome within the set time and budget. The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) provides an excellent framework, preaching the 80/20 rule for creating and testing simple processes that your team can learn and stick with over time.
How do you approach delegation in your business? What strategies have worked best for you? Let me know in the comments!
