The Fatal Assumption & The Three Personalities

This week, we are cracking open The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, and right out of the gate, he exposes the single biggest reason why most small businesses fail.

It’s not the economy, and it’s not bad luck. It is The Fatal Assumption.

Chapter 1: The E-Myth Gerber defines the "E-Myth" (Entrepreneurial Myth) as the false belief that people who are good at a technical skill are qualified to run a business that does that work.

We’ve all seen it:

• The carpenter who starts a contracting business.

• The barber who opens a barber shop.

• The technical engineer who starts a tech firm.

Gerber calls this the "Entrepreneurial Seizure." You think, "Why should I work for a boss? I know how to do this better than he does!" So you start a business.

But here is the trap: Knowing how to do the work of a business is NOT the same as knowing how to build a business that does that work. When the technician starts a business, they don't buy freedom; they buy themselves a job. And usually, it’s the worst job they’ve ever had because they are working for a lunatic (themselves)!

Chapter 2: The Entrepreneur, The Manager, and The Technician In Chapter 2, Gerber explains that we aren't just one person. Inside every business owner, there is a three-way battle going on between three distinct personalities:

1. The Entrepreneur: The visionary. The dreamer. The innovator who lives in the future.

2. The Manager: The planner. The organizer. The one who craves order and lives in the past.

3. The Technician: The doer. The tinkerer. The one who lives in the present and just wants to get the work done.

The Problem: In most small businesses, the Technician kicks the other two out of the driver’s seat. The Technician just wants to bake the pies, fix the cars, or write the code. They see the "business" part (marketing, strategy, systems) as an interruption to the "real work."

The result? The business becomes a chaotic grind because no one is steering the ship (Entrepreneur) or cleaning up the mess (Manager).

The Challenge for This Week Ask yourself: Who is running your business right now? Are you spending your day dreaming (Entrepreneur), organizing (Manager), or just grinding out the work (Technician)? To build a business that works, we have to invite the other two personalities back to the table.

Start Your Journey:

 

[Amazon Link for The E-Myth Revisited]

 

[Audible Link for The E-Myth Revisited]