We All Think We Are Special
I remember the first time I was introduced to EO ( Entrepreneurs’ Organization ). It was 2012, and I was on a boat with my friend Arnold Ponçon . He was telling me about the forums and how they worked. My immediate reaction was, “I can’t turn off my phone for 4-5 hours; I sell fresh fish. I have to be in constant communication with people. It’s impossible.”
Arnold looked at me and said, “Yes, you can. You just don’t know how.” At the time, I didn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. Or perhaps he explained it well, and I just wasn’t ready to hear it. Now, looking back, I realize Arnold had the tools and knowledge—he’s one of the most intelligent and structured individuals I know, especially when it comes to productivity.
The Productivity Revelation
Arnold was one of those rare people who wouldn’t touch his phone all day. He strictly followed his planned schedule without checking emails or answering calls. During meetings, his phone was nowhere in sight, which often frustrated family and friends (myself included) who wanted to get in touch with him. But as productivity gurus now affirm, it works.
I thought my business was special. At Delaisla, we export fresh fish, a perishable product, so in my mind, constant supervision was necessary. The daily plane arrivals, fish intake, and sales all needed to be managed in real-time. Missing a sale could mean losing money. So, in my head, all this made my business special and made it impossible for me to turn off my phone. “I just can’t,” I said.
Is Your Business Really That Special?
Now, as a Bloom Growth coach implementing the basic tools of our system with my clients, I hear the same excuse repeatedly: “My business is special; it’s different.”
Take, for example, a client session a few weeks ago. I discovered they hadn’t held their weekly meetings for three weeks. Their reason? Cash flow was their top priority, and the week before, one of the leaders had to pick up a check during the scheduled meeting time. They genuinely believed skipping the meeting was necessary to keep the business afloat. I asked, “Is your business really going to collapse because you didn’t pick up that check right then?” Their answer was, “Yes, it will.”
Another client insisted that their operations were unique, making it impossible to separate their operations meetings from their leadership meetings. They argued, “If we did that, how would the rest of the team know how to support day-to-day operations?” I couldn’t help but wonder: How does a company leader manage to see the bigger picture—the forest—if they’re constantly buried in the minutiae of each tree?
Other clients also believe they need to ‘tropicalize’ tools to make them work in their ‘special’ circumstances. They think their business model is so unique that the standard methods won’t apply. But the reality is the opposite: no one is that special.
Be Special in the Right Way
Look at it this way: In Bloom Growth, the system we use to implement these tools, there are 10,000 companies from various industries, countries, and business models. And they all find success using the same tools. Do you really believe your business is that different from those 10,000 others?
Yes, your business should be special—but not in how you adapt these tools. It should be special on two levels: how you differentiate yourself in the marketplace or how you tackle your industry bottleneck.
- If your company struggles to find staff, what unique strategy can you implement to attract and retain talent?
- If you have problems growing your business and generating leads, what innovative process will you use to fill your pipeline?
- If your operations are inefficient, how will you streamline your processes to eliminate those roadblocks?
Dedicating time and energy to solving these particular issues will lead to incremental improvements and will definitely help you grow. But the second level is even broader. As Barrett Ersek said: Instead of looking at what’s broken in your business, study what’s broken in your industry.
These are problems faced by the entire industry. Solve them, and you will experience exponential growth. Ask yourself: What is the #1 obstacle that everyone in your industry shares? What is the #1 problem that, if you cracked the code, you will win the race?
So again, be special and different in what matters. The Bloom Growth tools apply to every business because we all need the right person in the right seat, clear priorities, systems to track those priorities, metrics, role clarity, and problem-solving methodologies.
If you believe your business is the exception, you’re doing yourself a disservice. You’re not special in that way—in fact, that mindset is holding you back.
Just like me ten years ago, you might think your business is unique because of a specific challenge—like sending perishable goods that need constant attention. But even in such cases, you can schedule time for communication and delegate tasks. Last year, I finally delegated all fresh fish sales to Marino Francisco Rosales Gavarrete , one of the members of our leadership team.
I used to think I was the only person who could do that job. It turns out he can not only do it but actually does it better. As for me, I now have the time to focus more on strategy, culture, and figuring out how we reach our next milestone.
One of the most dangerous beliefs entrepreneurs can have is thinking they are the only ones who can handle certain tasks. That belief makes you a slave to your business. It controls you rather than you controlling your business.
The journey through the valleys of death at different levels of growth requires you to let go of tasks and responsibilities. But to do that, you must also let go of the belief that only you can do it.
You must let go of your ego.