In a blog post recently Paul Wallbank interviewedfounder Ian Gardiner of Sydney video streaming company VioCorp after he stepped down as CEO.
“I ended up getting further and further away from the stuff I’m actually good at,” he said. “You end up as the founder and entrepreneur in a place that is not good for anyone.”
“As a result of that the business doesn’t go in the direction you want.”
Gardiner’s decision illustrates an important truth about business; different management skills are needed at different stages of development. For some people it easy easier for them to manage the start-up process, along with developing the innovative ideas and bedding down systems. These skills are very different to the day-to-day managing of staff, and working within existing systems. If you find yourself in a situation where your skills are being pulled in a direction that you are not comfortable with, then consider your next move.
As I work with many RTOs across Australia I hear people express feelings of unhappiness; mostly because they are struggling to keep up managing the systems or the changes. Perhaps it is time to review where they are, and ask if someone else could do it better.
For Ian Gardiner, he believes he made the right choice “The punchline is that I’m happy about it, and very excited about the future of Viocorp.”
