“One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.” Arnold Glasow It is a common myth that effective leaders focus on the big picture and pass off or delegate the details to others. And it is common knowledge that many a business has crashed because no one was paying attention to the “little things that make a difference.” And they do make a difference to any business’s well being. Yes, I so do believe that the answer to new business survival is in the detail. To make it against the odds of failing, the knowledgeable small business owner pays attention to the details of cash flow, accounts payable, customer receivables, inventory control and expense monitoring. Assuming vendor statements, credit card statements, bank statements and your own books are without error saves time but it is a careless approach to managing money. And not very smart! Disregarding the financial details of your business is an open invitation to disaster. You are extending a welcome to taking liberties with your money. You are permitting vendors and customers to cheat you. Such misguided neglect can eat up your profits or compound your losses. Claiming you are too busy to worry about the small issues is a cop out. Somehow, the fiction of a swaggering, go-getting, on the road to success, entrepreneur tossing off the boring detail to the hired help is widely believed. Those who pattern their behavior on the prime time heroes or the latest fictional account of rags to riches in the business world are asking to fail- and most do. While novels about business success are entertaining even stimulating, they are rarely written by anyone who ever been in business- there is no romance or glory in counting inventory turns or balancing the company checking account. Business professors who like to think in the abstract are guilty of telling budding entrepreneurs delegate the detail and go after the big prize. They fail to understand most business failures happen because of gradual erosion of the company’s assets through losses and neglect. Just as interest, compounds your savings, so do mistakes compound problems. Ask someone who has survived the early years of their business they will tell you that small errors often compound into large more serious problems. To avoid detail in a start up is mismanagement. Take the case of Ralph Whitney, who opened his Motorcycle shop, convinced that reading the detail of his accounting reports was something better left to his accountant. He was so occupied with creating a splash in his market; he viewed details as fodder for dummies. When his accountant tried to warn Ralph of a possible cash crisis, he did not want to hear any bad news. When the inventory of parts began to swell, he had no time to undertake the task of taking a physical count. And he never balanced his checkbook. Ralph failed. Tens of thousands of businesses fail each year from a variety of causes. A prime source of such failure is the incompetence of the owners. And a prime source of incompetence is not understanding what owning your own business is all about. Erroneous perceptions glamorized by the media and unrealistic dreams of quick riches coupled with a sense of invincibility become a recipe for disaster. Moreover, avoiding the details is one of the quickest ways to let your business get out of control. As the early English capitalists were fond of quoting”: watch the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves.” Still true! As your business grows there will come a moment, when you can no longer be involved in all the details of your company- but if you have a complete understanding of how it all works, have installed safeguards to prevent and monitor errors, your apprenticeship to your own business will be the insurance policy of your future success. To be a teacher and leader, personal experience is mandatory. Shooting from the hip- as they say- and premature delegation without a full understanding of tasks you direct others to do, is lazy and careless. The perfect situation for problems and even failure. According to William Holstein who writes a business column for the New York Times, employees want strong leaders with backbone, who tell the truth, who are honest, not afraid to deliver bad news, and not wishy--- washy over tough choices. In addition, have the experience to instill confidence. They know what they are talking about. The perfect place for a new entrepreneur to start is knowing the details of their business and grow from there. Dr. Paul E Adams, Professor Emeritus Business Administration Ramapo College of New Jersey Author “ Fail Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful.” Available at Amazon.Com If you have questions about your business- contact me: drfailproof@earthlink.net