As an entrepreneur there is no boss to tell me what I’m doing wrong. Instead, I try to be hyper-vigilant on assessing my performance, skills and the myriad of daily communications. I can’t be truly confident in my abilities without being self-critical. It serves no one to hide faults and weaknesses behind a false appearance.

Here is my own personal list (made public) to help myself gain a perspective on a situation and how I can resolve it. This time it is “Why I fail to execute.”

Why?

• I don’t plan out enough.
• I’m always rushing myself, therefore things get missed and others pay the price.
• I put too many little things on my plate which should be delegated out.
• I’m not giving others enough information and training to adequately pick up some of my workload.
• When I do assign myself work, it’s too easy to push things off into the future.

What are my rewards for “not executing”?
It’s helpful to dig deep into the hidden reasons that a negative feature or characteristic continues despite a desire to change.

• Delaying work load if I don’t feel like doing it.
• Delayed responsibility.
• It allows me to choose what things I focus on thereby giving me some sort of twisted control.
• It creates a perception that I’m too busy, maybe deep down I want that perception, but busy doesn’t equal effective.

What does it cost me?

• Time
• Energy
• Lack of achieving goals.
• Stress & frustration.
• Lack of leadership.
• Reduced depth of relationships
• Loss of money & failure to capitalize on opportunities
• Self-confidence

How can I change this?

• Wake up each morning and plan the day; look at tomorrow; assess the next 5 days.
• Make time to focus on creativity during the week.
• Prioritize tasks which can be delegated and get back to others first thing in the morning so they aren’t left waiting for a response.
• Set aside a time chunk each day for tasks which only I can do; and make time to document, train and delegate items to others.
• Before pushing off a task ask myself “what is it costing me to delay this?”
• Minimize distractions and make time for brainless activities.

There you go. I hope this helps other entrepreneurs better understand themselves.