HOW TO STEP DOWN FROM RUNNING YOUR COMPANY’S OPERATIONS WITHOUT GOING MAD

           I am fifty years old. I have dedicated thirty of those years to building a business. My company, PET Technologies, manufactures equipment for production of PET packaging and exports it to some fifty countries worldwide. While work is in full swing at our manufacturing site in Chernihiv, I share my ideas in books, articles, posts, and videos on Facebook and Instagram. Today, I jotted down some notes on the benefits of fasting and on how a businessman or woman can become a truly happy person. This was part of the homework that my 25-year-old social media managers send me every three days. I am happy to comply.

           Ladies and gentlemen, businessmen and businesswomen, you may think that I've gone mad. A year ago, I stepped down from running the operations of my company. The decision was difficult, but a conscious one. Preparation for my exit took three years and cost several million dollars. In order not to undermine the outcome by my intervening in the process, I scaled back not only in a physical sense-I moved to Kyiv-but I also completely immersed myself in a new project, the success of which was not determined by my entrepreneurial track record, years of management experience, or even money.

           I often discuss this topic with my businessfriends, and they all agree that in Ukraine the business is a beloved and a veryexpensive toy of the one who owns it. But how do you know when it's time topass it on to "the next kid" without breaking it?

           There are several distinct “symptoms” thatI recommend paying attention to.

           1. Let the Groundhog Day begin! My versionof Groundhog Day was a marathon through the “golden triangle" ofhome-office-restaurant that I own and back home. Not a marathon, of course, buta boring ride in the in the back seat of my Mercedes. It doesn't inspire you,and you evaluate your personal effectiveness at 15-20%. As a result, you becomeangry, depressed, and burnt out-not from work, but from overthinking andself-examination.

           2. You look for something to do andinterfere with your subordinates' work. You often lack the courage to admitthat they are doing a better job than you. Here are a couple of examples.

           I love it whenmy deals close and I am willing to offer discounts to get there. Once Icouldn't make it to a meeting with a major client, where I was prepared tooffer a 10% discount. My managers successfully sold the equipment with only a 4%discount. If I had been there, the company would have earned 6% less, andthat's a significant amount.

           Another example.I was constantly meddling in the production side of the business, insistingthat all technical issues go through me. As a result, the resolution ofproduction issues was getting delayed by weeks, as I was not always physicallyavailable. Instead of making a decision and moving on, my colleagues were waitingfor me, wasting valuable time.

           3. You enjoy a warm bath that yourcolleagues immerse you in. They surround you with their care and try to shieldyou from problems. And they won’t even let you drown in that bath because thesystem won't function without you. Any system strives for stability. You are atthe center, like a statue on a pedestal, guaranteeing this much neededstability with your presence alone.

           Having observed these symptoms, what do youdo next?

           1. You invite external consultants. Youneed a fresh, unbiased perspective. The more ruthless, the better. Prepareyourself emotionally for the fact that 70% of your officers will leave thecompany. It's possible (and most likely) that these will be the people youstarted with 20 years ago. After a management audit, it will turn out that theyare the informal leaders who are slowing down the processes in the company.It's possible that these people are also working against you. This happened tome. The consultants immediately pointed out one of these old-timers andstrongly recommended that I fire him. I didn't listen to them and paid theprice. I fired him with losses - financial and moral - some years later.

           2. Prepare a new captain to steer the shipand give them time to make their own mistakes. This requires going throughseveral stages that take about a year. At first, things are going well for them.You are still nearby, everything is moving by inertia but he/she is already atthe helm and performing well. Then their ego balloons, and a sharp decline thatfollows sobers them up. If they can rise above it and continue, congratulations- the company has a full-fledged independent CEO. Baptism by fire is mandatory.If there is no external crisis, it would even be good to create an artificialone.

           3. Physically remove yourself to avoid thetemptation to interfere in business processes and undermine the authority ofthe CEO and department heads. I've seen this happen multiple times with otherentrepreneurs, and I myself was guilty of it at the beginning. The process isin place, and work is bustling, but then you show up with corrections. Ofcourse, they will listen to you since you are the boss and when the managercomes back and asks, "Why wasn't the task completed?"… they answer: "Well,the boss came and said to do it differently..." I call it "seagull” management:you fly in, squawk, break everything, and fly away, undermining yourtop-manager in the eyes of subordinates. And we are not even talking about newbiesor start-up entrepreneurs, but about mature businessmen. Why do theyconsciously harm their business with such actions? Because they're afraid ofbeing out of work-waking up in the morning and feeling irrelevant, unimportant,and small. It's a terrible feeling that can drive you crazy. So what's the wayout?

           4. Find a new occupation. Travel, fishing,hunting, self-contemplation in the mountains will not work. You could have doneall that while still in business. Two weeks at most and then it wears off. Anew business? Again, not that interesting. When you're 50, you've come a longway, and starting over holds no interest or desire. This is about manufacturingagain, and it doesn't matter of what… cars, bricks, or sausages.

           What you need is a fundamentally newbattlefield. I myself have taken up writing books, sharing my ideas on socialnetworks, and speaking publicly. My schedule is again full, but now it is not withbusiness meetings, but with filming, interviews, and writing. The familiar patternsdon't work for me here, my management experience is not in demand. I try to lookat people from an industrial perspective, but they are different…digital. Theylive and work by different laws and algorithms. Even money doesn't solve things.I can buy myself millions of followers, but they will be empty... I cannot delegateto the team: "Okay guys, make me interesting!" It doesn't work thisway. You have to generate your own ideas, your entourage won't do it for you,your entourage is effectively gone.

           I started my exit from operations in 2016and finished it in early 2020. The company has been developing independentlyand very well for a year and a half now. I come every three months forquarterly meetings where we analyze results and adjust the strategy ifnecessary. I make an appointment with my CEO several days ahead-he has a busyschedule and the principle of "Max, come in!" doesn't work anymore.This guy is now in charge, he's driving my car. And I'm a passenger, but I canwait, I'm not in a hurry.