Risk & Business Magazine JGS Insurance - Winter 2020 | Page 19

BECOME REPLACEABLE

My mantra is “ Become Replaceable ” and that can freak people out .

“ But I ’ m irreplaceable ”, say some founders .
“ Yes , I know , and that ’ s the problem .” is my standard answer .
So I whipped out my dictionary to allay some fears in the hope of bringing a bit more clarity to the paradox .
ir · re · place · a · ble adjective 1 . impossible to replace if lost or damaged .
" do not send valuable or irreplaceable photographs "
synonyms : unique , unrepeatable , incomparable , unparalleled , priceless , invaluable , beyond price , without price , inestimably precious , of incalculable value / worth , of inestimable value / worth , of immeasurable value / worth , worth its weight in gold ; More
Use Over Time For : irreplaceable .
Note how the word was hardly every used before the Industrial Revolution .
in · dis · pen · sa · ble adjective 1 . absolutely necessary .
" he made himself indispensable to the parish priest " synonyms : essential , crucial , necessary , key , vital , needed , required , called for , requisite , important , all-important , vitally important , of the utmost importance , of great consequence , of the essence , critical , life-and-death , imperative , mandatory , compulsory , obligatory , compelling , urgent , pressing , burning , acute , paramount , preeminent , high-priority , significant , consequential
" education is indispensable for the preservation of democracy "
Again , common word usage tells us that before the Industrial Revolution , indispensable was used frequently .
Today , indispensable is at an all-time low .
Ideally , though we want to use that word a lot more . We want entire teams of indispensable people .
We don ’ t want a single irreplaceable , anything . Because , according to the dictionary and my experience , it or he or she is impossible to replace if lost .
And worse , if your business thrives or dies on a single point of failure , it ’ s a huge liability . It should scare you , should keep you up at night , especially if that single point of failure is a dedicated anything .
So you shouldn ’ t have a dedicated VA , you shouldn ’ t have a dedicated graphic designer , you shouldn ’ t have a dedicated coder .
If you have an opportunity to outsource to an on-demand service , you need to have access to as many people as you need whenever you need them . Plus , you should have the freedom to “ turn out the lights ” as well , without remorse or regret .
No attachment .
Now it may sound heartless , but it will make your business sustainable and allow you to sleep at night because a single point of failure is literally just that a point of failure .
But what about the replaceability thing ? I bet you ’ re thinking .
If you ’ re replacing yourself with somebody else that is in a dedicated role , you ’ re really just taking the bottleneck from you and moving it to someone else . But it ’ s still there . It ’ s just someone else ’ s bottleneck .
You haven ’ t cleared the path ; you ’ ve just pushed the dirt along .
Here ’ s another way to look at this paradox . Look at an engine , like it ’ s your business . The carburetor is irreplaceable because the car ( your business ) cannot , will not run without a carburetor .
Indispensable is the nitrous oxide that makes that engine go faster , accelerate better , and be more efficient and effective . You can still operate ; you can still grow without nitrous oxide . You can still get from point a to point b , but if you really want to do it the way you want to do it , then the nitrous becomes indispensable .
So , fill your life and business with indispensable and do everything you can to avoid irreplaceable . +
Ari is the best-selling author of “ The Art of Less Doing “, and “ The Replaceable Founder .” He is a selfdescribed Overwhelmologist whose insights into personal and professional productivity have earned him the title , “ The Guru ’ s Guru .” He can be heard on the award-winning Less Doing Podcast , on international stages speaking to thought leaders and influencers , and for those who prefer the written word , Ari ’ s blog posts on Medium offer immediate and actionable advice for entrepreneurs seeking replaceability .
BY : ARI MEISEL
LESSDOING . COM
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