Your Army of Mini Me(s)!

Allan R. Goldner

I know what you’re thinking when you read this title.  There’s a picture forming in your mind.  What’s his name, the guy with the bad teeth? That’s it! Austin Powers.  And Mini Me was the tiny clone of his nemesis, the other what’s his name. 

That is not, however, the picture I have.  I see mini me(s) everywhere.  Occasionally, I stumble upon a small gathering of mini me(s), and frequently, I come across a somewhat larger herd.  I spot them in businesses, of all types and sizes, employed under the guise of staff members generally associated with management, and at times, upper management.

While I can’t say they look like clones, their behavior is strikingly clonal.  They are generally, quite diligently, going about their business and doing what they’ve learned to do, from you.  That’s right; you, the entrepreneur and business owner have developed your own Mini Me(s). Let’s call you Big Me, just for fun. 

Big Me, (aka you), fully enraptured with the holy spirit of the entrepreneur, has meticulously taught all management, and especially the top people, exactly what you want to see in their daily, weekly, monthly and yearly performance.  Nobody is as thorough as Big Me, and so you’ve already scheduled the performance reviews and developed systems of accountability to make sure your vision is followed to the letter.  From each management person’s first day, they have been carefully groomed to understand what Big Me wants:  This is what makes Big Me happy.  This is what causes a frown or a look. (You know the look).  And your circumspective management person, who wants very much to make Big Me happy, has been taking all sorts of mental notes.  They are committed to thinking and managing as you do. In time, you might even notice their facial expressions are starting to resemble yours.  Am I taking this too far? Am I?

Let face it, mini me(s) are fun to be around.  Not only do they agree with everything you say and commend you on everything you do, they even appreciate how good you look today.  They never rock the proverbial boat and are always agreeable and compliant.  Sound healthy for your business? I think not.

Let me assure you that I completely agree with the traditional business concept of having a corporate culture, no matter the size, working off a shared vision of the owner, founder or boss.  No business of quality could properly function without the mission statement, systems and policies.  Within this context, I’m referring to taking this to an extreme. The classic mini me who is drilled in performing to an exact emulation of his boss, can develop the dreaded tunnel vision.  When the CMM, (Classic Mini Me), candidate has been selected, (because you’ve noticed a lot of you in him),  and thoroughly groomed for his management position, he becomes a reflection of that careful preparation and will not only have difficulty thinking creatively outside the box, but will consider that process an anathema to his training.

Tunnel vision is a major problem prevalent and ingrained in most companies, of all sizes. Management who see and administer the same things every day may fall into a rut.  While I find it more widespread in larger companies, I have observed the behavior even in the tiny company of the single entrepreneur.  That’s where the Mini Me and the Big Me are the same person. This can be a little weird to get your head around.

How can an individual who’s only known your company, think outside the box?  How can those new managers, you’ve hired from company X, bring forth their experience, when they are expected to be focused on pleasing you?  The person, who dares to try to spew something new, faces ridicule and may even have to contend with becoming ostracized. A bit dramatic, perhaps, but this can happen subtly.

You need outside influence and experience.  The observer who is less troubled by your hurt feelings and bruised ego and more concerned with honestly assessing your situation.  The independent thinker.  If you have one, embrace him or her, (allegorically speaking), and if you don’t, go find one somewhere.  This would be big of you.