Why Avoiding Micromanagers is Best for Society

Just a heads up but I'm going to use the term difficult people to describe micromanagers, sociopaths, narcissists, psychopaths.  It's just faster.  :)

Studies show that difficult people contribute to lower productivity.  Therefore, if workers quit their jobs and found new jobs with better people the world would be more productive with the same amount of resources.  So, at a very high level, the proper course of action when you encounter a difficult person -- is to leave.

That's right, just leave.  Quit your job, move away from difficult friends or family, break up.  Do it gracefully and politely, but do it.

You see, difficult people are unlikely change.  Spending resources trying to change them is a fruitless endeavor.  Seeking strategies for dealing with difficult people is one step better, however, the time and resources spent learning these strategies could be spent on more productive activities.

Think of the countless hours people spend reading and writing articles titled "5 Ways to Manage a Micromanager" and "How to Get Along With Your Sociopath Boss."  What if that time was spent trying to cure cancer or invent spaceships or volunteering with disabled kids?  We waste millions of hours every year just trying to learn about getting along with difficult people.  Does it help?

Think of difficult people like lids on your productivity.  Remove that lid.  The results would be massive.  If the entire US workforce increased their productivity by 1% it would be like adding 1.5 million workers to the economy but with no additional cost.  In my experience I am about 100% more productive without a difficult person in the way.  That would be like adding 150 million workers to the economy at no additional cost.

So leave.  Leave the difficult person.  Yes they will call you immature and a quitter and a baby whatever else but the truth is they are stifling you, wasting your time, and imposing a time tax on everyone.  Leaving is okay.  It's hard but it is valuable, very valuable.  So leave.

Inside the Ant Farm: Courage to Start

Today I bought 6000 postcards.

It took me 5 weeks to summon up the courage to spend $3000 on postcards and a mailing list.

The cards will go out in 3 waves to 2000 very targeted people in my area.  Hopefully I will get 2 people to buy flooring from me so I can break even.  If nobody responds then it's back to the drawing board.

I am not a risk taker by nature.  When I look back at some of the "risky" things I've done, most of them were somewhat hedged.  I tend to take risks that have a plan B, C, D and E so that I can get my money back, preferably with friends attached.

In this case I have taken care to target potential customers with large houses, in expensive neighborhoods so that I will need fewer jobs to recover my postcard expense.  Big houses means more flooring and expensive neighborhoods means more expensive flooring.  By doing this I expect each job to be 2.5x more profitable than the smaller homes in my neighborhood.  That means I only need a 0.2% response rate if I close half of my leads.  It's much safer to advertise to big houses.

Advertising is the kind of activity that most people avoid because on the surface it looks like a waste of money.  Plus, it's a lot of money for most new business owners to spend on something that isn't tangible.  Buying a truck or tools or business cards is easy.  You have something to show for it and you could get your money back and sell most of those items if you had to.

Buying advertising is not easy.

It is nerve-racking.

Now that it's done I'm excited to see the results.  If I get a 0.5% response rate and I close half of the leads I'll get 5 jobs and then I'll send out more post cards.  As long as it is profitable I will continue to send post cards to build my business.  My goal is to have 1 job for every weekday.  That means 250 jobs per year.

It takes courage to start a business...to let go of something so precious and sought after as money.

Plus it might fail.

But, if it works (and it has a better than 50% chance in my estimation) then I can't afford not to do it.  250 jobs per year, all derived from postcards, it too much money to pass up just because I'm afraid.

The postcards land in 2 weeks.  I'll keep you posted.

Inside The Ant Farm: A Real Time Look at Starting a Business

It's easy to watch Shark Tank.  It's fun.  But it is discouraging.

Here are these people who have invested many thousands of dollars, or hundreds of the thousands of dollars, or millions of dollars...and the sharks are chewing them up.  How's the average Joe supposed to start a business?  While I love the show, I think it makes business seem way to complicated.

Is step 1 to raise capital?

Do I need a fancy app or to invent the next Snap Chat?

Do I need thousands of dollars for a prototype and a patent?

What about licensing deals?

There are literally hundreds of questions that lead to discouraging answers, but the reality is that business is helping someone by trading something you have for something they have.  If it's a good trade for your customers then customers will not be a problem.

I've started this "Inside the Ant Farm" series to chronicle my new start up as it starts up.

The term start up may give the wrong impression.  This is not a tech start up.  It is not a crazy new invention.  It is not something that will be suitable for Kickstarter.  No, this is way too simple for that.

It's flooring.

You know, carpet, and hardwood and tile...the stuff you walk on everyday.  The only thing you are physically touching 99% of your waking hours.  And, it's boring.

But, being simple, I think it will make for a great experiment that just about anyone can learn from.

So let's rock and see where it goes.