We hear a lot about taking our weaknesses and working on them until we become strong in those areas.
Unfortunately, trying to turn weaknesses into strengths might not be the best or most efficient use of your time as a business owner.
Recently, I came across a philosophy that recommends that you focus on your strengths, rather than wasting time with weaknesses.
As a business owner, it can be tempting to try to do all the things all the time. Or at least spend time getting better at things you think will help you advance your business. The reality, though, is that you might be wasting valuable time and energy trying to turn yourself into something you’re not.
Leverage Your Strengths
When I was introduced to the StrengthsFinder concept, I was intrigued. You don’t necessarily have to take the test (it costs money), though, to see that it makes a certain kind of sense to focus on your strengths, especially for business owners.
Rather than trying to be better at things you aren’t particularly good at, it makes more sense to focus on the things you excel at and leverage those into bigger results.
It’s kind of like using the Pareto principle for your own business efforts. You know that 20% of your effort is the basis for 80% of the results you get from your business. As a result, it makes sense to focus on the things you do well — the things that are most likely to give you those results.
By focusing more on what you’re good at, instead of wasting time trying to do things you’re bad at (and having the poor results hold you back), consider building off your strengths. You’ll see a better outcome in the long run.
Outsource Your Weaknesses
I’m a huge fan of outsourcing. I find that outsourcing the things I’m bad at (or just don’t have the time or energy to do) frees up the ability for me to focus on more important things.
Look at the things in your business that you aren’t good at. Can these tasks be outsourced to someone else? Could someone else do them more effectively?
If the answer is yes, there’s no reason for you to be wasting your time on them — especially if you aren’t very good at it.
Instead, pay someone else to take care of those tasks. If you don’t have the money from your business to pay to outsource all of the things you aren’t good at, start with the most tedious and time-consuming task. Once someone else is doing that task, focus your energy on building your strengths, and using those to grow your business at a faster rate.
Another way you can focus on your strengths is to find a business partner who can complement you. The right business partner will have strengths that offset your weaknesses. That way, you can both benefit from a growing business.
No matter how you handle your strengths and weaknesses, the reality is that your best results — and better business growth — will come when you focus on your strengths.
