I was eager to see what Michael Gerber had to say because I had been in a management capacity for large and small corporations alike, and had my own ideas about what good management and management structure was.
So, with my pre-conceived in the back of my mind I dove into the book, eager to see what he would have to say. I figured it would be all about how to better manage people, and what a manager needs to do to motivate staff, and keep them towing the line.
What I found was really the opposite. The basic premise of The E-Myth Revisited is that it's not about me as a manager per say, nor is it about the people that work for me. It's really much more fundamental than that. Let me explain.
The Entrepreneur, Manager and Technician
Most start our careers learning our chosen profession working for someone else. There, we learn our craft, honing and refining our skills. If you stay in a given field long enough, chances are you are going to get pretty darn good at it.
Over time as you gain experience and become familiar with the management and all of the inner workings, and structure of the company you likely began to question the decisions made by your superiors, or questioned certain business practices.
This is inevitable I suppose; it's just human nature. But why do we begin questioning these things? Well, as Michael Gerber says, probably because we made this fatal assumption: "If you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does that technical work".
You see most all of us are technicians. Regardless of what our job is. The carpenter, hairdresser, engineer, physician, and mechanic are all technicians. What most all of them believe is that by understanding the technical work of a business the are automatically highly qualified to run a business that does that king of work.
This fatal assumption is the cause of most small business failures. But, the answer to small business failure is more complicated than that. As Gerber says, "everyone who goes into business has three distinct people-in-one". The entrepreneur, manager and technician and these personalities all want to be boss, and are competing for control.
So what do you do? You start a company to get rid of your boss of course. And the conflict between your personalities begins!
The entrepreneur is the visionary in us. The dreamer and the energy sparked by imagination and creativity. Unfortunately for the manager and technician, the entrepreneur has a strong need for control.
The Entrepreneur lives in the future, dreaming and creating a vision of things as they could be. Because of the entrepreneur's need for change, they are always creating turmoil in the work place. To the entrepreneur, most people are problems that get in the way of the dreams.
The manager is the glue that holds thing together. Without the manager there would be no order or predictability. Where the entrepreneur lives in the future, the manager lives in the past. Where the entrepreneur must have control, the manager craves order.
The technician is the person who gets things done. "If you wants things done right, you have to do it yourself". The technician likes to tinker with things, taking them apart to see how they work. He likes the feel of accomplishment and getting tings done.
He is happiest when in control of the work, and as a result he mistrusts those he works for. They always try to get more work done than is possible or needed. To the technician, thinking isn't work. It gets in the way of work. For the technician, everything can be reduced to a methodology.
While the entrepreneur dreams and the manager worries, the technician ruminates. It's these vastly different "personalities" that are always at odds within use that are the cause of most small business failures. But there can be order in the midst of the chaos.
The E-Myth Revealed
If you are like most of us, you probably believe that the entrepreneur starts the majority of small businesses. That's what we have been told, right? They are the industry giants that who become legends in their own time.
According to Michael Gerber, the vast majority of people who start a small business are the technicians, not the entrepreneur. This myth runs very deep and the entrepreneur has gained heroic status as a result. Gerber says those folks area rare in today's world.
He also says that if the entrepreneur exists at all, it doesn't survive for long. "If the entrepreneur existed at all, it was only as a myth that grew out of a misunderstanding about who goes into business and why.
So, if we remove the hero status from the entrepreneur and give him only the credit he is due, then what we are left with are three distinct abilities or "personalities" are always competing for the spot light. The degree to which one dominates over the other will vary of course, but they are all still there.
The Turnkey Revolution: A New View Of Business
Realizing that there always will be this conflict between the "personalities", this question must be answered. How do you achieve success in business? The best answer for the average person may be in the business format franchise.
The franchise has three components that I have recognized are essential to any business venture.
First, the franchise provides a highly structured environment where every aspect of the business is dictated. This is an entire system for doing business. The advantages are in the structure itself. With everything spelled out with no ambiguity, everyone in the company knows what is expected of them.
The technician is free to be himself and execute the tasks that make him happy. The manager is no longer losing control of the business environment. There is structure an order to the work place. And the entrepreneur now has a channel through which his vision can be realized in the real world.
For me realizing that these different "personalities" exist within each of us was really an "ah ha" moment. When I reflected on each personality, I could begin to see which one was strongest. I also began to understand why I made some of the decisions in my past business career.
Second, the franchise model provides a mentor by virtue of the highly structured training. Typically franchisees attend rigorous training under the supervision of a seasoned veteran of the field. This is invaluable in learning and implementing the franchise models specific protocols and guidelines.
And third, the franchise model provides success early on and builds confidence. Not only the system, but in the franchisees ability to successfully implement the system.
While I don't think the franchise model is right for every one or every circumstance, but I do believe the principles Michael Gerber is advocating in the franchise model are sound. As long as the systems are in place, the personalities are free to do what they do best.
David Ruth is an Internet Marketing Coach, who works closely with small businesses showing them how to integrate Attraction and Web 2.0 marketing techniques.
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