Let’s be frank – nothing kills an organization's morale faster than making completely unrealistic claims that get your staff all revved up, only to find out you've lied and not only are they not advancing as you promised – they’re in reverse.

And currently, one of the best examples of this comes from the President of Russia – Vladimir Putin.
In the build-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Putin and his Generals somehow managed to brainwash themselves into believing that rolling over Ukraine would be a cakewalk. Then, they spread that delusion among the Russian troops telling them that “they’ll be welcomed as heroes and liberators”

Obviously, it didn’t take long before the Russian troops were being fed a diet of lies especially after they faced off against a VERY determined Ukrainian resistance.

Now you could dismiss that as “these are Zelenskyy’s troops and they’re just as fervent as the Ukrainian president. But when civilians - men and women, old and young, stand their ground and start screaming at the invaders to “GO HOME”, the effect on the morale of the young Russian troops was obvious – they collapsed.

I’m not saying business owners and entrepreneurs are delusional but sometimes we take a far more “optimistic” view of a situation or an opportunity than we ought to. I know there are several times that I’ve created a grandiose product or service that “everyone would get in line to buy”… BUT, no one did.
These are not only hard on the business owner’s ego, but it’s also very hard on the staff that have to work very hard to get all the promotional materials, assets, and support materials produced and ready to deploy, especially when all that hard work goes to waste producing what, essentially, is a flop.

The solution is to bring in people that aren’t afraid to tell you that – in their mind – your idea stinks. Sadly, entrepreneurs are such forces of nature that we tend to drive people like that out of our organizations. I consider myself quite fortunate to be able to rely on my wife Dipa to be my “reality check” and to have others like Russell Martino and Dan Kennedy in my circle of influence who are not afraid to shine a very bright, relentless light on all the holes in my plans.

The input from these people allows me to refine and distill my ideas (or occasionally toss them out completely) BEFORE I introduce them to my staff thereby greatly increasing the chances that their efforts will bear the fruit that keeps eLaunchers growing a list of happy clients and profitability.

Setting realistic expectations and sharing them openly with your staff, getting buy-in, monitoring results and getting quality feedback is the key to owning and operating a successful business.

I would love to help you come up with a strategy to grow your business, including how to get buy-in from your staff and principals.  Click below to choose a time that works for you.