David Earl Woodbury
No 16 Changing Lives through Dancing
By David Earl Woodbury
Friday, April 11, 2014
Entrepreneur, Manager, or Technician?
There was no such thing as half-trying. Whether it was running a race
or catching a football, competing in school — we were to try. And we
were to try harder than anyone else. We might not be the best, and
none of us were, but we were to make the effort to be the best.– Senator Robert F. Kennedy, in a tribute to his father, Joseph P. Kennedy
This blog come
s to you as we are in Miami, Florida for the Arthur Murray International Franchisee Convention. We are having our keynote speaker, Michael E. Gerber speak on his book, “The E Myth”. What an inspiring read. It truly describes the world of the franchised business and how it all works. It covers a business being in infancy, to adolescence, to adult maturity as a successful venture.
The three types of franchisees listed in the book are the Entrepreneur, the Manager, the Technician. The entrepreneur is the band leader, moving forward with vision and creativity. The manager is the planner who keeps everything in line and does not crave change. The Technician is the doer who lives in the present, not too much thinking, worried about how to do something even though that something doesn’t need to be done at all.
Whether these three qualities are all in the same person, or if one quality is in one person, or there are three people who embody each characteristic, they all DO exist in business and must be dealt with.
Our studio is so new. We are just moving to pull-ups from being infants. We can see adolescence ahead for us, and some moments are maturity also manifesting in our studio. Our partnership is divided into these exact three divisions.
The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do,
something to love and something to hope for.– Joseph Addison (1672–1719) English Writer
I am the Entrepreneur. My whole life is dreaming of the future, what we can and will become. Visualizing the studio in its adult stage and all the wonderful ways we are going to get there. My dreams are so real that I can taste them and feel them. Yes, I can be the manager (I hate sitting and doing some of the things I must do) and yes, I am able to have singular vision and get specific things done, things that must be done.
The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for
doing them.– Benjamin Jowett (1817-1893) British Theologian and Classicist
What is my perfect dream? A studio full of happy dancing students. Many, many male students so our ladies have someone to dance with. Many, many happy couples so we have that connection and partnership in our school. And all the fabulous ladies who make our studio such a beautiful place.
A studio that sets the standards of excellence is our goal. A school that the example of how to do it right in every way. Having the top Guest School for Arthur Murray in the world. A school full of excitement from the moment we walk in to the moment we leave at night. I can hear the laughter of our great school full of lessons all day and a happy staff, and happy students. Yes, I have a vision of our school and what it will become.
We are beginning now to realize some of our mature dreams with guests and our many new fantastic students. Our staff is amazing and I love spending the days training and mentoring them. My partners are outstanding and they bring so many great gifts to making our studio a championship school.
Who are you in life? I hope you are the dreamer, the visionary, the magician in your life!
Thank You,
David Earl Woodbury
Next Week: The End of Lent, April 18 and 19.