You can’t be good at everything
I look at a simple paper clip and realize I can’t make one.
In fact its rare for any one person to make anything from scratch these days.
Artists used to mix their own paints but now most wouldn’t know how to do that.
A baker uses ready milled flour and other ingredients that have been manufactured by others.
Even making a cup of instant coffee involves complicated processes to produce the coffee powder.
The next time you hestitiate to say “I don’t know” ask yourself:
Am I trying to be, or implying, that I am good at that?
And then ask “Why?”
What is it that makes you reluctant to say “I can’t do that” or “I don’t know that” and find someone who can or does?
Are you expecting more of yourself than you do of other people?
Repeat after me:
I am NOT good at everything.
I will stop trying to be good at everything.
I will stop implying that I am good at everything.
And relax.
Finding people who can do things you can’t do can be a joyous experience.
It can lead to brilliant collaborations and friendships.
Never be afraid to say “I don’t know.”
Which is of course an excellent advert for outsourcing!
When you look many successful (maybe the majority?) outsource a lot of non-core functions and focus on what they are good at!
That takes me back – my final project for PGCE in Design Technology in 1994 was teaching kids how to manufacture novelty paperclips on a CNC machine! So I did know how to make paperclips at one point in time.
But this is very relevant to me – I can turn my hand to many things but just because I can do something, that doesn’t mean it’s the best or most efficient way of getting things done.
Ha, I’ve never had anyone come up with that reply before Helen! If we all had unlimited time and didn’t have to earn money it wouldn’t be a problem to dabble in lots of things or not do them very well, but as time is the one thing most people struggle with in small businesses it makes sense to use it onthe most profitable activities and outsource or automate everything we don’t HAVE to do ourselves. Its a fair bet to say that most people go into business to do something they do know how to do and enjoy so sticking to that and letting other people do the things they do best makes a lot more sense than tryng to do it all ourselves and wasting time to do a not very good job of it.