A first-person monologue by Mark Simpson recounting severe burnout after acquiring 21 property units in six months while doing all hands-on work (including installing curtains at 2am), culminating in a hospital visit where a doctor diagnosed burnout. After reading the book "Clockwork" he stopped doing operational tasks (no longer using tools) and built a team, assigning people to roles matching their strengths—"zones of genius." He argues this change dramatically grew his business and prevents the inefficiency of combining incompatible roles. The transcript also contains a short informal outro/rap-like interjection.
Chapters
The ego entrepreneur that has to do everything. I, I acquired 21 units in six months and I did everything, you know, I, I was putting curtains up at 2am in the morning with the wife ringing me, saying, where the hell are you at? And I'm like, I've got to get these curtains. I've got some guests coming tomorrow. And, you know, and, and I, I exploded. You know, I was, I just didn't, I didn't believe in help, I didn't want to give any money away and, and I ended up smashing my head open and ended up in hospital. And pretty much the doctor was like, you burnt out, like you're doing far too much. And that was, that was the moment for me where I listened to Clockwork, the book, and just changed absolutely everything for me. And from that day forward, I don't even think I've lifted a hammer or a drill. And I've instantly built a team around me. And now I don't really go near properties, I don't do anything with them. I don't get involved in operations. But my business has gone from, you know, just, just catapult. I don't know what the percentage growth has been, but it's been, you know, a lot. And that was because people can take you so much further than you can do it, you know, by yourself. You can only go so far by yourself. You have limitations. And also, you know, one thing that I've understood from managing people, not only in my business, but kind of the roles I've had previously, is you're never get somebody to do two roles in a company because they will always choose the role that they prefer and they'll use that as the excuses why the other role doesn't, doesn't get, get the time of day. So to give you an example, you know, if I had someone doing guest operations and sales calls to estate agents to try and, you know, to try and pick up new units, well, they might not like cold calling. So they'll just do all the guests hand and then they'll be like, oh, we had so many guests this week, I just didn't have time to do the sales calls. You know, naturally you might get someone who doesn't like handling guests or they, but they love picking the phone up, which is me. So I'll be like, sorry, the operation's gone to. Because I didn't have time. So I was ringing the stage and so all the time. So one thing I've learned is like, get people what I call in their zone of genius and that goes to you as well. Get yourself in your zone of genius, do what you like, do what you enjoy, and then you hire every single person in their own different zone of genius that complements your business. And if you do it in the right way, they will return an investment. They will return on your investment in them, both financially and in terms of what you get out of it, and they won't be an expense to your business.
Having a blast. Gonna get it on the Bruce Lee podcast Bruce Lee like Bruce Lee cuz it's so hard and the te is loose leaf making up those rhymes. Don't write it, just do it loosely.
