There’s a place, right in the wild west, where there are no laws, bars are always open, and disputes end in street duels. The sewage doesn’t work, you know what, it was never even installed, and everyone does as they please. Everything is falling apart, and no one is responsible for anything. Here, anyone who goes to sleep doesn’t know if they’ll see the morning.
Well, the local economy in this town probably isn’t thriving.
The town needs a sheriff. Without one, the system doesn't function.
It’s the same in a company. Without clear roles, it won’t work. It must be clear who’s in charge. Not only will internal operations not function, but it’s also crucial for the company’s customers to know who’s responsible.
50:50 partnerships rarely work (talking about company, not family).
That’s why, in the startup phase of a company, it’s necessary to define who’s the leader. 50:50 partnerships rarely work. Or having three owners, each with a one-third stake. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but experience shows it’s more challenging than having one person in charge.
Imagine a company as a ship. It’s clear who the captain is. Without them, the ship could technically sail for a while, but it would soon lose direction, and as soon as problems arose, the system would collapse.
The captain doesn't know exactly what's on the menu today... But he knows the ship better than anybody else.
The ship analogy is also good for another reason: knowledge and understanding of the system as a whole and all its component parts. The captain doesn’t know exactly what’s on the menu today, nor can they precisely fix an engine problem, or perform surgery like the ship’s doctor. But on the ship, there’s no one better at understanding how individual parts and individuals function and how they come together into an organized whole. They have a general understanding of how things work.
The same analogy for a company could be an orchestra and its conductor. The conductor isn’t a virtuoso on each instrument, although they likely can play many of them. Instead, they understand the individual components and the orchestra as a whole.
In conclusion, in the town, there’s only one sheriff. Above all, don’t forget that the town doesn’t function without a sheriff.
Everyone must know exactly who that is. Likewise, it’s challenging for a town to have multiple sheriffs. It just doesn’t work.
I feel like I’m telling a story about an economic system in a past time when collective responsibility was supposed to lead to a better world. Well it just didn’t happen.
Only clear roles enable system to function.
