Why You Need to Take Ego out of Your Business

If you’re an entrepreneur, you probably have a big ego.

Face it, it’s what a lot of us are all about. We love going on podcasts and talking about our values, love sharing our struggle with anyone who will listen and live for that buzz of being recognised on stage at a conference.

Maybe we could do with pulling back a little bit on the ego insanity.

On the latest episode of Bond Appetit, I spoke with Laurence Tham. He’s the founder of Drive Your Practice and has helped countless chiropractors boost their business.

He also has some great insights on being an entrepreneur. One thing we talked about is ego, so I present you with three things you can do today to let go of your big head and get your business moving.

Get Help

Egomaniacs hate being helped. It’s the same reason most men (read: egomaniacs) refuse to ask for directions when they’re lost. They can’t admit that they don’t know something.

You don’t know as much as you think you do, and you should realise that. What I’m not asking you to do is be crippled by self-doubt. That’s not good for an entrepreneur.

What you can realistically do is get help from experts in places where you’re weak. Ask those that you respect how you could improve. People that will give you an honest opinion. Then seek help in those areas. It doesn’t have to be an expensive consultant, it could just be someone who is a good listener and could teach you about shutting up once in a while.

Look at the Big Picture

When we’re in the middle of the entrepreneur storm, it’s hard for us to look at the grand view of what our business is like. We might spend so much time making indecipherable graphs, scheduling pointless goal-setting meetings or having caffeine-fueled ‘brainstorming sessions’ that we can’t realise that our product sucks.

A good solution for this? Go on a damn holiday.

Get out of your office. Close Twitter, you egomaniac, and go for a trip. Even just a jaunt outside of the city will do wonders for scatterbrained bosses.

Allow Others to Innovate

Your business is your baby. I get it, you put everything on the line to build it up, and you would die before you let it fail.

You Need to Let Go.

You’ve hired employees that you trust and respect (hopefully), now let them help the company. Give them space to present and explain their ideas, instead of dominating every meeting you’re in with your ‘genius’.

These are just three quick solutions, but I could spend all day talking about why ego is one of the worst things for business. Whatever you do, take some time out to pick yourself apart and realise how your type-A personality is causing friction in your professional life. I guarantee there’s ways you could get better.

Listen to my entire conversation with Laurence here.
http://www.bond-appetit.com/laurence-tham-2/

Author: Ronsley Vaz

Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.

He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.

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