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Many of you have read The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. In that book Gerber describes what he calls the “Fatal Assumption.” The Fatal Assumption is this: that knowing how to do the technical work means you know how to build a business.
Gerber clarifies a challenge we’ve all seen played out:
We could go on and on. The fatal assumption is that these people tend to see the business as simply an extension of their current job. But, unfortunately, there are a whole lot of functions that must be mastered to run a business effectively.
This addresses a pet peeve of mine. And that’s the “Objective” on resumes.
Here is a recent example on a resume submitted for my review:
“To support the growth and profitability of an organization that provides challenge, encourages advancement, and rewards achievement with the opportunity to utilize my experience, skills, and proven abilities.”
Sounds great – would you like to hire this person? But what do you know about
this person? Is he/she a candidate for flipping hamburgers or for a CEO position? Does he have skills in supervising, organizing, planning, selling, marketing, etc? Is she proficient in any computer skills? We don’t know. This “Objective” tells us absolutely nothing about the person. It was a total waste of time on the applicant’s part.
Knowing that most resumes get 30-40 seconds look, you’d better tell the recipient something about yourself that would make them want to see you as a candidate. IMMEDIATELY! Begin your resume with a Skills Summary, Profile, or Expertise. Here’s an example:
I was listening to Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast on The Accessibility of a Leader this week and was struck by one particular scripture reference he used.
We all know the story of Nehemiah and how he decided he needed to rebuild the
wall around the city of Jerusalem. That was a clear and major focus. But like with any of us, even when we are doing something important, there are the inevitable interruptions. In Nehemiah 6:3, he replied to one urgent request on his time: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”
What do you allow as interruptions to your great work? Or is your work not important enough to reject the interruptions? Maybe what you consider an interruption is what your boss likes to call “having a job.”
Here’s a reader question:
Dan, My big goal is to start a business and I’ve taken the first few steps. My broad goal is simply to find a different job. It’s funny though – the more I work on my business plan, the more interviews and job opportunities come open to me. I’m not sure if it’s a sign that I’m really headed on the right track (and the other jobs are distractions) or if it’s a sign that there’s something else out there for me (just a different job, not my own business). How do you figure that out?
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Leslie – wow, it’s awesome to have multiple options opening up to you. Actually, 
it’s funny how these things work. As soon as you take responsibility for where you are and begin being intentional about creating new options, you’ll recognize that you have many possibilities.
