On my first day as a fractional Integrator at my first client, the owner, Brent, told me, “I’m a Trapped Visionary.” I had to ask him what he meant.
Brent replied, “I want to work on building out a sales team. I want to be on our industry board. And I want to work on our company culture. But do you know what I spend all my time doing? Working in QuickBooks.”
That’s when I recognized the most important role of an Integrator: to free up the Visionary. The Visionary needs to be able to do the Big Things that will move the company forward. They have to be free to use their superpowers – whether they be sales, product development, or operations improvement – in a way that will make their vision for the business a reality.
I heard Brent say he was trapped, so I decided to get him un-trapped. I took one of his finance people with the necessary ability and trained her to be the controller. I trained her on using QuickBooks and managing cash, and we passed all of Brent’s accounting responsibilities to her. I also took over management of the Leadership Team.
Free now of those two large responsibilities, Brent was able to do what he wanted to do. He built out his sales team, beefed up marketing, and implemented a CRM program. Once that was in place, he was able to bring in some new large accounts and drive sales growth. Brent’s superpower was sales, and once the Integrator freed him up, he was able to use that superpower to achieve his vision for the company.
If you’re a Visionary considering hiring an Integrator, please reach out to me via LinkedIn, at 651-247-1993, or at roger@rogerscherping.com. I look forward to discussing how I can free you up so you can do the Big Things that will move your company forward.