Is your business the old west?

I have to be honest, I didn’t grow up watching westerns and still don’t watch them.  My only reference to the old wild west is Back to the Future III when Marty travels back in time to find Doc Brown.  Yes, I’m an 80’s girl.  There is a theme that runs throughout what we hear about westerns and Doc Brown’s experience in the old west – people in those movies tend to act first then think, in others words – they shoot from the hip.  While this makes for a great movie script, it’s not necessary good for business.

You are acting like a cowboy or cowgirl from the old west, if you find yourself doing the following:

Decisions are made by “gut feelings”. Instead of researching or getting feedback, you really on what your intuition or gut tells you. This may work in some aspects of your life but in business not so much. What will your clients, vendors or employees think? Can you sustain it? Will you always end up with the right answer?

You “shoot” first, then “aim”. When something goes wrong, is the person closest to you the one to get the blame? Do you assume the customer/client is always right? Do you feel your employees are out to get you? Think about this.  Wouldn’t it be better to first understand a situation, all the moving parts and then make an informed decision that everyone can live with? Better yet, train/coach your employees to handle these situation themselves.

Standoffs happen at “high noon”. Do you insist on having an audience to hear all  your grievances? Does everyone in your organization know what is going on and who’s wrong? Is is like you are standing in the middle of town with your employees watching through the windows?  What impression are giving? How are you leading your team?

Again, if you are making a western movie or possibly an episode of The Office – this makes for great entertainment. However for your business – this is not so good.  You are the leader, the sheriff of your team. You have to demonstrate on a daily basis your insights, knowledge, personality, trust and integrity.  Only with these can you lead and have others follow. You need to bring your business back to the future of the 21st century.

Have you experienced a “western” business?  What happened? Share in the comments below.