Today I heard four words that almost made me weep tears of joy.

We were having a bit of a challenge with some online technology. We have this fancy form that we are asking people to fill out in order to get a Jump Start session with one of my coaches. Hopefully by the time you read this it will be working: http://www.successconnections.com/jumpstart/

And every 2 or 3 times someone filled it out something wouldn’t work. Argh!

My team had tried very hard to handle it without me. But alas, someone found me on a site and said, “Help, I can’t get this form to work!”

So being the diligent problem solver that I am, I started to troubleshoot and test the system to see what the problem was.

I called my Marketing Manager, explained the problem and said, “OK I’ll call [my virtual assistant] and see what needs to happen.” 

My Marketing Manager uttered these four words that almost made me weep… 

“I’ll take care of it!” Ahhh…..the relief in knowing that someone else is in charge. 

As a visionary, creative and leader of my empire, the last thing I need to be doing is solving technology problems. Thank goodness my team has been trained well in “owning” the problem and keeping me out of the middle. 

It’s what I call the grown up business model. It’s one where I do what I do best and leave the rest to the experts on my team. And this is the strategy that separates the “empire builders” from the rest – being able to let go and let others take charge. 

So what’s your gig – where do you get caught up in solving problems that suck your time and energy away from what you really should be doing? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Sustaining the Forbes 400 Wealthiest List

Why Entrepreneurs Don’t Stay at the Top

One of my new favorite shows to watch is CNBC’s High Net Worth. Last week they did an interview with Maria Elena Lagomasino, an asset manager, who shared her insights into why entrepreneur’s don’t stay wealthy.

A study was conducted on the Forbes 400 Wealthiest people List. In 2006, only 13% of the people on the 1982 list remained. Why? Here is what Maria’s take on it is.

She calls it the “success paradox.” The attributes that help you create massive wealth are not the same attributes you need to sustain it.

For instance, what you need to create wealth is:

• Great ideas
• Lots of energy
• Focused concentration
• Very “directive” management
• Big risk taking

Unfortunately, these attributes will eventually position you to “implode” and lose what you gain. Maria suggests that once you create wealth, you need to switch strategies and enter a different mode that includes:

• Diversification (vs. singular focus)
• Risk Management (vs. risk taking)
• Delegation to Proper Support Teams (vs. being overly involved)
• More Collaborative/Consensus management (vs. more directive)
• A vision of your life style (vs. focus on just creating $$)

This insight is quite powerful for those entrepreneurs that experience the “yo-yo” success syndrome. How could you apply this to other areas of your success? Feel free to post your thoughts.