Very often entrepreneurs try to go it on their own—after all, the business was their idea and they have the know-how necessary to deliver their product or service. However, letting professionals help you with areas where they have the necessary know-how can save you time, money and headaches.
You likely hired an accountant to help you with your tax filings and other finance issues. This is an area where most entrepreneurs recognize that they need outside help. The accountant has the expertise, (the knowledge), necessary to handle your taxes and finances appropriately and in accordance with the applicable laws.
While you certainly could take the time, and make the effort, to obtain that knowledge yourself, you probably have more important things to do in terms of getting your business up and running and producing. That doesn’t mean that you abdicate responsibility for your own taxes to your accountant. But, you can allow your accountant to help you in that area—and to provide the professional knowledge you need.
In 1972 L. Ron Hubbard identified something called the “KRC triangle.”
“The points are K for KNOWLEDGE, R for RESPONSIBILITY and C for CONTROL.
“It is difficult to be responsible for something or control something unless you have KNOWLEDGE of it.
“It is folly to try to control something or even know something without RESPONSIBILITY.
“It is hard to fully know something or be responsible for something over which you have no CONTROL, otherwise the result can be an overwhelm.”
Obviously, you want to be in control of your business. You are, after all, the person in charge. That means that you need to take responsibility for all areas of your business or you will never be able to control them. However, without knowledge of each area you don’t have the information you need to take responsibility so you can be in control. Simple. All three corners of the triangle work together. The more knowledge you have, the more responsibility you take, the more you can be in control. The triangle expands. The less you decide to be responsible for something the more it spins out of your control, and the triangle contracts.
Now—what does this have to do with employment law? (As an employment lawyer for businesses I always need to turn these back to my sphere of expertise.) Think about your employees. I repeatedly hear from clients that their employees are out of control—that their greatest headaches are coming from their employees and the business owners are spending way too much time putting out fires caused by or related to their employees. Looking at the KRC triangle, if an area is out of your control it means that you lack the knowledge you need to take responsibility for it and thus control it.
A previous article of mine dealt with the fact that there is something to know about employment law in the U.S. and how it applies to your business. A reason to learn this information for yourself (and to work with professionals in this area who can help you learn it) is because having information (and knowledge) about your obligations to your employees under the various employment laws allows you to take responsibility for this key area of your business and thus put in control.
What’s so important about control? At first blush it should be clear that an orderly business produces more than a chaotic one. But, more importantly, another one of Mr. Hubbard’s principles is that control equals income—and who doesn’t want more income? But that’s a topic for another day.
Professionals, such as employment lawyers, help you have the knowledge you need so you can take responsibility for your employees and put in the control necessary to have your business flourish and prosper. Reach out to professionals such as lawyers, accountants and insurance agents, to make sure your business is protected—but don’t relinquish the responsibility for your business to them. That job belongs to you.
As the late Fred Adair—the world-renowned firefighter who was a specialist in extinguishing oil well blazes—once famously said:
“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”
© All Rights Reserved. Grateful acknowledgement is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard.
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