"As the founder and owner of this business, it was my courage and persistence that got the business started. I was the one that made the right decisions and made things work. When something needed to be done, I did it. There were some tough decisions to make, but making them and being right got the business to where it is today. Now I look around and do not see anyone who can do what I can do. No one else has the passion and dedication to make this business work. I have made the right decisions and done that over and over through the years. Who could possibly replace me."
When I speak with an owner who is a legend in his own mind and hear something like the above-quoted passage, I begin to think of ways to connect that owner with reality. With years of experience, I have yet to find a business where the legend was true. I do not have to do any investigation or fact-checking. No successful business is the product of the effort of only one person. No one makes the correct decision all the time. With any given business, there are usually several people in the business who could run it as well as the people running it now – they might do things differently, but they could run the business. And what I hear from these owners is how tired they are because they have to do it all.
