Inhaing Our Own Fumes

Entrepreneurs are notorious for being too close to themselves.

Too close to the business, too close to the product and too
close to their own perspective. And the problem is, when they’re in too
deep, inhaling their own fumes, they start seeing things that aren’t really there.
Like a mental magic trick, they create optical illusions that obscure the truth
and delay the execution process.

I remember writing a book a few years
ago that drove me up the wall. Since the layout architecture was more complex
than usual, by the time the document was print ready, I literally starting
reading words that weren’t there.

My designer was convinced I was hallucinating.
So we met for coffee. And Jeff patiently cleared my eyes and helped me see what
I needed to see. Then he told me to let it be. Eventually, we shipped the books
in time for my overseas seminar and nobody got hurt.

But could have been much worse. As a
freelancer, I don’t have a big furnace to feed.

Other entrepreneurs, ones with
employees, vendors and multiple stakeholders, have a much broader constituency
to cope with. And the minute they get to close to themselves, things start to
get broken.

Smart organizations build external
networks. Community platforms, social media outlets and other online listening
posts to help them scan the horizon better.

Otherwise, they never get out of their own head.

And the mind can be a dangerous neighborhood.