ExcerptThe “Hat Trick”: How to Wear the Right “Hat” for the TaskOne of the advantages of wearing a lot of hats is that you can show up at a meeting or tackle a problem from various perspectives. If you are in a sales meeting, your production manager “hat” can keep you from giving away the store in order to get a customer. In a procurement decision, your sales “hat” can keep you from paying too much for materials. And through it all, wearing your CFO hat can keep your business solvent. Some even argue that wearing a lot of hats enhances the creative process. At best, you are cross-pollinating each of your tasks with a little wisdom and experience from other fields, which makes you better at all your “hats.” But successfully wearing many hats, like effectively multi-tasking, isn’t necessarily a skill you are born with. It is, however, a skill you can learn and refine. Since there is no way to escape it, you might as well enjoy it—without becoming schizophrenic. Here are some tips: Inventory your hat rack. In his classic The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey explains how to consciously define and nourish each of the roles you play in life. The same logic applies within your business life. Don’t just think of yourself as “entrepreneur” or “business owner,” but delineate all the separate roles and think through how you approach and perform in each.
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