Author: Tom Aranow, Harrington Daniels Advisors
Most of us would agree that, in general, truly creative people and highly organized people are very different. In the simplest of stereotypes, creative people are appropriately full of ideas and inspiration while managerial people are full of process and rules. The fact is that it may take a carefully balanced combination of both types to successfully run a business.
In many cases entrepreneurial business owners are wonderful idea people. They are great at seeing the business value in new products and services and at identifying opportunities that others have bypassed as too risky or vague. They may be wonderful at creating a vision that inspires investors and employees alike.
On the other hand, professional successful managers probably are logical and linear thinkers who know how to get things done. They have strong skills in linking the various aspects of complicated and detailed processes into orderly and efficient business models.
In general, neither type of individual can create and sustain a successful business for the long term without the other. In fact, teams of creative and managerial types are not rare. They may well be the most productive business combinations of all, but when they work together in close contact, sparks will fly, both will be stressed, and to survive as a team, both need to understand how to work with the strengths and limitations of the other.
If you are a creative entrepreneurial business owner, you probably like to look at the big picture. You may like to leave details to others, and as you think about the future, you may be easily frustrated by the fact that what appear to be simple problems become, in the hands of others, so complicated and so arduous to resolve.
If you are the professional manager, you’re probably frustrated with your creative boss or partner. The direction and guidance he or she provides may seem like wishful thinking and too general to be used in the development of a solid work plan. You may wish he or she would provide more feedback on how and what to do, rather than why you should all be successful in implementing every new idea.
Here is the dilemma: Both of you are indispensable. Good things happen in the business because you are so different from each other. Any business that doesn’t have dreams and take risks with new markets, new products and growth eventually will wither, and the work of making dreams come true won’t happen without someone to turn lofty aspirations and ideas into carefully crafted and detailed plans.
Sometimes, a good team of opposites dissolves in frustration with people giving up and trying to find colleagues more like themselves.
That’s a shame.
Stress levels may drop but so might productivity. The friction between unlike types may be a fundamental component of the success of a vibrant business. It’s often annoying, almost always stressful, but it’s the truth and something you should work with instead of without.
Tom Aranow has over 30 years of executive management and entrepreneurial experience in a variety of industries and is the author of over 35 published articles and essays on best practices in business and not for profit management. He is the Senior Advisor for Business Strategies at Harrington Daniels Advisors, in Grafton, and Kohls Group Consulting in Pewaukee, he can be reached at 262-376-9507 or by email at tom@hdadvisors.com
Originally published in the Daily Reporter of the Daily Reporter Publishing Co., All Rights Reserved.