This is a great discussion between Robert Gerrish or FlyingSolo and Michael Gerber, of E-Myth fame.
Michael Gerber Interview by Robert Gerrish
I made some comments to the interview:
Business is a system. People working in the system have a “job”. Many solo runners in “business” operate in a “craft”, which is neither job nor system, but somewhere in between. Rather like a hobby they enjoy doing, but this hobby impacts little more than themselves and their family. If the soloist is doing the same thing over and over, then they have a job not a business, nor a craft for that matter. I doubt if they will like it.
The best business operates as a tribe – a large group of people (up to 150) working in a harmonious, contiguous unit. After all, we are humans, animals, and working together is what we enjoy the most.
Gerber is 100% correct – his wider world experience gives him that view point. His purpose is to touch as many people as possible, and help others to achieve the same, not just 1 or 2 (or the nuclear family) as Robert Gerrish promotes.
Gerrish has a kind of “screw the corporation, we can do it on our own” approach. Which, coincidently – based on tribal research – is about 48% of the population (stage 3 – See the TED talk [David Logan on tribal leadership] for what stage 3 is).
(David Logan on Tribal Leadership).This is probably why Gerrish feels right in what he believes: because he can find a lot of people to agree with him. Gerber is talking about the top 2% (stage 1) of the population who are already there, as well as the next 22% (stage 4) who know they can do it better.
So in summary, it’s horses for courses, each to their own, et alii. It’s being clear with your true feelings inside yourself, and why-you-are-really-doing-that-which-you-are-doing. Are you truly enjoying it? Yes? Then keep going, keep doing it. No? Then stop as soon as you can and find what makes your heart sing. A bunch of happy folk is a heck lot more enjoyable to be around than sad, hard-done-by folk. Besides, life for youself is a whole lot betterer!
See my other blogs about the same topic:
Jeremiah Josey's Blog 