Ever get that sinking feeling? That pit-of-the-belly sensation while you recognize something’s long past wrong. Business proprietors recognize what I’m talking about approximately. We get it when that customer calls to complain about a process. Or whilst a provider’s critical shipment doesn’t arrive on time.
You’re an enterprise owner. You understand this feeling. When is it absolutely the worst? When it is a generation guide problem. You come to paintings, and your computer display isn’t always the way you left it the night time earlier than. When you arrive at your office this morning, you’re now not greeted through the typical laptop. Instead, the display screen is frozen at “Windows is commencing.” An update that robotically downloaded remaining night time screwed something up. Your display is black. And now so is your temper.
You watch the screen for a few minutes, looking ahead to something to appear, but you know nothing will. Finally, you restart the computer. Twice. The same result. Now you have that sinking feeling. You see your morning slipping away: This pic isn’t always going to begin. And nor is your day. Until you get a few assists, you could have to call a technical guide. But halt your hyperventilation-there may be no want to fear in any respect. As a fellow business owner, I’m going that will help you. Because I’ve learned a way to handle technical aid with some guidelines for people like us.
Rule 1: Don’t Get Angry
You can get angry if you stay in a metropolis wherein it snows 1/2 the 12 months, and your crew begins the season 0-4. You can get indignant each time you listen that Jennifer Lopez is paid $12 million to decide on American Idol. But this time, getting angry might not help everyone. And it might not assist you in getting your difficulty resolved any faster. If you are walking your very own enterprise, the ultimate aspect you want is on your personnel to peer you storming around your workplace, wildly swinging a golfing membership over your head like a tomahawk even as you kick over your chair and again and again yell, “Why, why, why!” It’s sufficient that your family’s seen this conduct. You ought to deliver personnel the impact that everything is in control that YOU are on top of things. You are a businessman. You are Don Draper. So do what he could do at 8 a.M.-have a bourbon and smoke. Microsoft (MSFT) Windows never rattled Don Draper, right? So be calm.
Rule 2: Be Nice to the Technician
Of course, it is demanding that you have to wait on the keep. And we all recognize how tense it can be when you have to punch in your “customer ID,” ZIP code, mother’s maiden call, favorite vacation spot, and social protection quantity into the automatic device three instances, best to be requested for that identical statistics again the minute a stay individual comes at the smartphone. It’s now not his fault. The technician is simply doing his task. He’s going to be excellent. It would help if you were satisfactory, too. You’re a commercial enterprise owner. How could you want it if a few purchasers became being a jerk to one among your personnel? You’re no longer going to get on his suitable side by being a jerk to him. At best, you may earn the right to be put on hold five extra instances than vital or be pressured to sit and wait in silence for many more minutes, questioning what he’s actually doing as he is clicking away on his keyboard.
Rule 3: Be Patient
You realize from going for walks your personal enterprise that now and again, the solutions cannot be introduced straight away. Don’t you want your customers to be a bit greater affected when they came with a hassle? Of direction you do. So take a deep breath. Don’t worry approximately the long silences on the road whilst you think you’ve got been disconnected. He’s there. He’s possibly simply mulling things over. Or speaking approximately the issue with his colleagues. Whatever. Be affected person. Answer the questions. Take this time to rearrange your schedule. This problem will, in the end, get resolved. It’s going to take a little time, that is all. Don’t even bear in mind grabbing the golfing membership again and knocking that photograph of your wife and kids at Disney (DIS) off your table.
Rule 4: Cede Control
As a commercial enterprise owner, you’re probably a management freak. Like me, you hate different people doing things you do not understand. That’s why you don’t work for everybody anymore. But to get your hassle fixed, you’re going to need to relinquish that manipulate… As a minimum for a couple of minutes. When the technician asks to take over your machine to do his troubleshooting remotely, just permit him. Don’t worry approximately the protection. Try no longer to think of anything malicious he could be doing. Don’t be troubled that he’s going to go looking at the websites you latterly visited. Remember, he does not care about all that. He has others in your state of affairs he needs to assist, too. Let him take over your computer and run all those complex scripts and packages that handiest the technical support men understand a way to run. Please don’t ask what he’s doing. In truth, do not even watch what he’s doing. Look over a few paperwork alternatively. Try to appear busy. Walk across the office as if you’re lost for your mind, conjuring up a few outstanding plans to take your business to new heights. The tech man will soon end.
Rule 5: The Most Important Rule… Delegate
Haven’t you learned whatever over the past 20 years strolling your personal business? You’re the boss. So act like one! You recognize by using now that you’ll find best screw matters up via doing the provider yourself so that you have a person else do it. You recognize through now that you may lose that customer if you name him and scream about his late invoice, so you have someone else do it. And you must know using now that you’ll never be the technical wizard which you as soon as the idea you could be whilst you bought your first Windows three.1 computer-so that you want to delegate this, too. The minute you notice something is inaccurate, have some other man in your office or your tech man deal with the problem. And instead, pick out up the phone and call a customer. Check on an order. Walk across the warehouse—order lunch for the staff. Just do something else greater beneficial. And greater suitable for the proprietor of an enterprise.
