The key reason businesses fail is poor leadership. You could start with a unique, valuable idea and recruit a talented, motivated team, but even the best plans and perfect timing don’t make up for weak leadership.
Problems can happen to anyone – BREXIT, sudden competition, a failed launch – but such problems are rarely the cause for a business’ failure. Instead, the problem lies with the compound effect of multiple bad habits that show up without you noticing and gradually bring down the momentum of your business.
Below are 7 bad habits which often area trigger for business failure or stagnation:
Failing to delegate
It’s hard to let go of your responsibilities, especially when the business is your baby. You may cling to every task, out of a desire for perfection or just a loyal commitment to your own work, but you can’t do this forever. Learn to trust your wider team, and delegate efficiently.
Focusing on too much at once
Running a business can be busy and at times, overwhelming. You’ll be playing lots of roles, handling lots of responsibilities and coming up with new ideas, daily. However, you have to narrow your focus on your biggest priorities or else your efforts will be diluted leading to no meaningful progress in any area.
Remaining too focused on one thing
It’s also possible to develop the opposite habit: focusing so hard on one goal, that you totally neglect the other elements of your business. For example, you might be obsessed with having a “perfect launch,” but have you thought about what you’ll do in the months that unfold after the launch?
Not taking risks
Risk-taking is a fundamental tenet of a successful business. Good companies don’t succeed by playing it safe and sticking to what they know; they’re always experimenting with new angles, new services and more efficient approaches. Don’t let yourself become stagnant because you’re risk-averse.
Micromanaging
Resist the urge to micromanage your employees. Micromanagement breeds resentment, as it’s both a demonstration of distrust and an interference with healthy work patterns..
Being reactive instead of proactive
This is a habit that kills businesses because it allows those major problems mentioned above to happen. Reactive business leaders set a direction and address challenges whenever they happen to come up; proactive entrepreneurs are always on the lookout for potential challenges, so they can overcome them before they ever become a problem.
Never taking time off
A lot of business leaders are workaholics with a belief the more you work, the more progress you see. However, there’s a strict upper limit to how helpful this extra work can be. Work too hard, for too many days in a row, and that habit will start to wear on your physical and mental health.