A MOVIE HAS A DIRECTOR THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER.

An Executive Producer is the person who owns the idea of the movie and in many cases, the sponsor of the movie project. The movie is literally the intellectual property of the Executive Producer and has the license to sell the work. More often than not, when a movie is being produced, there is need for a Director. Most Executive Producers try not to direct their movies because they may get so emotionally invested and not allow for a top level execution of the movie.

A Director is the singular predictor of the quality of a movie. He/She dictates the quality of every character, and sees to the literal “make believe” that we experience in the cinemas and streaming platforms.

A DIRECTOR IS EXTREMELY CRITICAL IN THE PRODUCTION OF A MOVIE. THE QUALITY OF THE DIRECTOR CAN DEFINE THE QUALITY OF THE OUTPUT OF THE MOVIE SCRIPT.

This is exactly what a Business and Executive Coach is to any Entrepreneur.

An Entrepreneur is the Executive Producer of their business. They sponsor the business. The own the strategic decision and direction for the business. They decide everything in the business BUT when an Entrepreneur does not have a Coach (a Director), they are likely to do A LOT of SENTIMENTAL & EMOTIONAL decisions that can STALL GROWTH and PROGRESS in the business.

I have always been of the school of thought that:

1.⁠ ⁠Every Founder should have a Business Coach for their company and an Executive Coach for themselves.

2.⁠ ⁠Sacking Staff is “old school”. In fact, there is growing proof that the new staff you hire may be worse than the old staff you fired. So, maybe firing is not the answer. Maybe providing intervention may be better and more effective. The cost of reintegrating a new staff is not cheaper than the cost of creating interventions for existing staff. So imagine doing reintegrations 3-5-10 times in a single financial year. That means all your margins are gone into staff crisis management. Don’t sack. Intervene. (Some contexts may not apply here; but you get the message, I believe).

3.⁠ ⁠Micromanage your Managers. Anytime I speak to Founders, I tell them NO GLOBAL BUSINESS OPERATES ON INITIATIVE. ALL GLOBAL BUSINESSES OPERATE ON PROCESSES. And ALL PROCESSES ARE MICROMANAGED. That is its nature. You will always feel frustrated if you leave your managers to use their initiative. It will fail. A movie director does not say “This actor is a veteran. There’s nothing I can teach him.” No!!! Rather, because EACH MOVIE IS UNIQUE TO ACHIEVE A SPECIFIC OUTPUT, the “seasoned” Actor must be micromanaged to deliver THIS MOVIE. It does not matter how many movies the actor has successfully executed, this movie is unique and different. You must see it that way. Work with your coach to create a routine that micromanages results, processes, outputs, behaviours, etc. WHEN WE LEAVE OUR MANAGERS TO THEIR INITIATIVE, THEIR LIMITATIONS AND EXCESSES ALSO COME INTO PLAY. Stop that.

Do you want your business to last long… please read this message closely again. You will like the results.

m a k t u b !!!

Sam Obafemi
The Octopus 🐙