I Know What I Suck At

There are few things I am trained to accomplish by myself. Being handy is not a trait that runs deep in the Kilman lineage. My dad’s idea of being handy was to be handed the phonebook to look up a carpenter. Wendy and I painted every room in our first house and I truly believe she was having divorce papers drawn up while I was cleaning the brushes. Most

projects I start end up costing me more after I have to bring in a professional to fix what I have done.

One of my closest friends is an accomplished OB/GYN physician. She handles the most critical moments in a woman’s life and truly performs miracles bringing life into the world on a daily basis. She studied 8 years and then residency on top of years of focused practice to become a well-known physician that is trusted by hundreds of her patients.

I don’t know about you, but I never once thought during the pregnancy and subsequent births of my two kids that I should take over or that I knew better than the doctor what we should be doing. During the births I was trying not to pass out.

So we have established I suck at being a handyman and I am not trained to take care of a pregnant woman and the birth of her child. These are just two of millions of things I have to remind myself I suck at. See, we all want to think we can do it ourselves forgetting there are people that are REAL experts at that task.

So let's flip it. You are an accomplished executive with a business. You invest into hospitality venues, you know SAAS better than anyone, or you have a software solution you have worked your life to bring to market. We call you “engineers”. You know how to do your “thing” better than others. A Physician is an “engineer”.

As the months go by, you find yourself worrying and dealing with your marketing and business plan, growing the revenue line, managing vendors and personnel, and trying to figure out how to be successful. Last time I checked you are a great “engineer”, not someone dying to own and run a business. Matter of fact, the time you spend on the “business side” is time away from your passion which is why you started the business. One of the major factors of burnout amongst “engineers” is not the actual “thing” they do for a living. What does cause burnout is managing all the nuance it takes to gain customers, retain those leads and converting it all to revenue growth. That is my “engineer” sweet spot.

So, I make you a promise. I won’t perform surgery or write custom code to launch people to Mars if you promise to not try to run your SEO strategy. I also promise no more home DIY projects – if I try again, I might need a couch to crash on when Wendy kicks me out!