I am worn down. How do I get everyone off my back?

Dear Aunty B,

I am finding running a business is wearing me down. My board wants more profit, my staff want more money, my suppliers want to charge more, my customers want to pay less, my wife wants me to work less, the Government wants me to collect more tax and my bank wants me to bugger off.

It is a thankless task, and I have no idea why anyone in their right mind does it!

How do I get them all off my back?

Stuck,
Central Dandenong

Dear Stuck,

Yes, it is a thankless task. So let me thank you on behalf of your board, staff, suppliers, customers, wife, government and banks (current and future.) Without you, Stuck, we would be a poorer nation. Worse; everyone would be forced to work for large corporates.

What you need now is time and space to do some problem solving. To get that you need to tell everyone to bugger off – except your bank. Tell your board you are working on a major strategic plan (well, you always are, no?).

Tell your staff you will pay them more when they do more (they won’t). Negotiate with your suppliers and look for more and better customers. Offer your wife a job in the business so she sees more of you.

And tell the Government to bugger off (Craig Emerson keeps telling us that government should get out of the way of business, so there should be no problem).

The good news is you are not stuck and they are not on your back – except for the banker who you want all over you like a rash.

Don’t let this overwhelm you. You just need to handle one issue at a time while you keep plotting the way ahead and nudging the business forward bit by bit by bit.

So change your thinking. Everyone wants more. So do you. You’re all on the same page.

Now make it happen.

Your Aunty B.