If focusing on strengths is the key to better performance, then the next logical question is this:
what do you do about the things you are not good at?

Too many business owners try to become good at everything.
Finance. Sales. Operations. People. Systems. Strategy.

It is exhausting, and it is not realistic.

Strong leaders do something different.
They build teams that balance them out.

Instead of spending years trying to fix their weaknesses, they hire or partner with people whose strengths naturally cover those gaps.

That is not avoiding responsibility.
That is building a business that can actually scale.

The trouble starts when business owners try to do it all themselves and end up becoming the bottleneck.

The real leadership shift happens when you stop asking,
“How do I fix myself?”
and start asking,
“Who do I need around me so the business can perform at its best?”

Strong businesses are not built by well-rounded individuals.
They are built by well-balanced teams.

So here is the question worth thinking about 👇

Are you trying to be good at everything, or are you building a team that is strong where you are not?

If this is something you are navigating right now, you are not alone.
It is one of the most common growth stages I see in small and mid-sized businesses, and it is often where the biggest gains can be made.

Related reading if this resonated:

focus on strengths, not weaknesses, a strengths-first mindset for business owners who are tired of fixing everything.
find your talent and invest in it to build real strength in business, turning natural talent into long term business capability.

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

I often read books where people push themselves to the extreme. Climbing Everest, crossing Antarctica, or kayaking across the Tasman are all examples of this.

One of the most impactful books I have read recently is Team Spirit by Brendan Hall, the skipper of the winning yacht in the 2009–10 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

While the book covers resilience and endurance, what stood out most were the leadership lessons that translate directly into business.

1 Skillset matters, but not how you think

Brendan learned that being a great skipper was only about 20 percent sailing skill and 80 percent people leadership.

The same applies in business. Technical expertise is important, but without strong people skills, growth quickly stalls. Great leaders build teams that complement their weaknesses rather than mirror their strengths.

2  Mindset drives outcomes

One of Brendan’s guiding questions was, “Does this make the boat go faster, safely?”

In business, the equivalent question is, “Does this help us reach our goals faster with less risk?”

Short term wins that create long term damage rarely pay off.

3  Consistency beats brilliance

Brendan often said, “You don’t win a race. Others lose it.”

Success came from persistence, discipline, and avoiding mistakes. The same is true in business. Those who learn quickly, recover fast, and keep moving forward tend to outlast their competitors.

4  Culture trumps talent

Some team members were technically brilliant but damaged morale. Over time, Brendan saw that one negative influence could hold everyone back.

We have all seen this in business. The high performer no one wants to work with. Removing that friction often unlocks performance across the entire team.

5  Leadership is a daily practice

Momentum, mindset, and consistency compound over time. Leadership is not about moments. It is about habits.

If you want to grow as a leader, I highly recommend the book.

And if you do not have time to read it, reflect on this question:

Where could improving your mindset or team dynamics create the biggest lift in your business right now?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

After my recent post about focusing on strengths instead of weaknesses (see here), a few people asked a great question 🤔:
How do you actually know what your strengths are in business?

One approach I have used is the CliftonStrengths assessment 🧠. It is an online tool made up of paired statements where you choose which one best describes you. You only get about 20 seconds per question, so it is very instinctive ⏱️. You do not have time to overthink your answers.

The goal is to measure your natural patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to identify your top areas of talent 🎯. This is especially powerful when you are trying to understand and build your business strengths, not just your technical skills.

And this is an important distinction.

Talent is not the same as strength ⚡

Once you understand your talents, you can invest in them by practicing, developing skills, and building your knowledge 📚.

When you combine talent with investment, that is when strengths are created 📈. This is how real business strengths are developed over time.

Talent alone is not enough. You could be a golfing prodigy at 10 ⛳, but without continued practice, you might end up a golf caddy at 25.

But investment alone is not enough either. There is little point taking singing lessons for ten years 🎤 if you are naturally tone deaf.

That is why Tom Rath says:
“You cannot be anything you want to be, but you can be a lot more of who you already are.”

If you want to build sustainable strength in business, the first step is understanding your natural talents 💡. The second step is deliberately investing in them, so they turn into real capability and results 🚀.

So, I will leave you with this question 👇

What have you done to understand and develop your strengths in business?

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

It sounds sensible, but in business, it is often the wrong focus.

When you spend your time trying to fix your weaknesses, you are putting energy into areas where you will never truly excel. You might improve a little, but you are unlikely to become exceptional.

That is not where real value is created.

The real opportunity lies in your strengths.

Your strengths are where momentum builds.

They are where you add the most value.

They are what set you apart from everyone else.

When you double down on what you do well, results compound. Confidence grows. Decisions become clearer. Your business starts to feel more aligned with who you are and how you work best.

And what about your weaknesses?

You do not ignore them. You manage them.

You put systems in place. You use tools. You employ or partner with people who are strong where you are not. That is not avoidance. That is leadership.

If you are in business, ask yourself this.

Do you want to spend your time doing the things you are not good at, or the things that move the business forward?

So, take a moment to reflect:

• What are your true strengths?
• Where do you consistently create the most value?
• What sets you apart from everyone else?

Sustainable growth does not come from fixing every flaw.

It comes from leaning into what you do best and building your business around that.

Contact Wayne on wayne@arealcfo.com.au or 0412 227 052.

Click on the below buttons to access other free Resources developed by Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO to help your business scale and grow profitably

Want a confidential discussion on your business situation, help with your grant application or to learn more about my Outsourced CFO Services, simply email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052

Do you think that sporting clubs can teach business a trick or two? Well I do. And let me explain why.

Let’s have a look at the 4 footy teams lined up for the grand finals this week. You’ve got the Panthers and the Broncos in Sydney for the Rugby League and you’ve have Collingwood and the Lions in Melbourne for the AFL.

Now do you think that these 4 teams are not going to train this week, they are not going to practice? Do you think they did no planning for this?

This is the 4^th grand final in a row for the Panthers.  Do you think they got there by luck?  No they have planned, trained, failed, replanned, trained and executed consistently over those 4 years.

Now if you look at the Bronco’s in the NRL, just 4 years ago they were last in the comp.  They have been planning and training for this weekend for the last 4 years. 

Collingwood were second last in 2021.  They have been planning for this for 3 years.

So the message to business owners.

Firstly just because you are not succeeding today, does not mean with the right planning and execution you can’t succeed tomorrow.

Secondly, if you are successful today, you will only stay there if you continue to plan and execute

And that’s why I believe the sporting teams can teach business about how to get the best outcome. It needs planning, practice, training and execution.

If you want confidential discussion on your business situation, or some help with your plannning, just contact me below

Contact Wayne Wanders for your FREE Business Survival Session

To ensure I help your business specifically, the best approach I have found is to have an obligation free session with you.  In this session we will review your current business in a factual and objective manner, to better understand the challenges that you face.  And this session does not need to be face to face.

At the end of this session, you will have multiple ideas on how your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Simply fill in the contact form below or email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052 to organise one of these obligation free sessions.

To get help you successfully navigate your way through your financial challenges so your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times, simply use the contact form on the left to email Wayne or call him on 0412 227 052.

Let Wayne Wanders, a fully qualified and experienced CFO, help you successfully navigate your way through your financial challenges so your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO

wayne@aRealCFO.com.au

I see lots of posts about matching your work and passion.   But I don’t necessarily agree with this concept. 

Not every job that needs doing will be someone’s passion in life.  For example, when do you hear about kids wanting to grow up and be a cleaner or a garbage truck driver?

And I was reminded of this yesterday listening to some old music while driving between Melbourne and Sydney.  It was the song about a cleaner, Mr Tanner by Harry Chapin.  One of the key lyrics in this song is “But music was his life, it was not his livelihood”.

To me it gets back to working to live and not living to work. 

Interested on your thoughts on this matter.

Contact Wayne Wanders for your FREE Business Survival Session

At the end of this session, you will have multiple ideas on how your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Simply fill in the contact form below or email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052 to organise one of these obligation free sessions.

Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO

wayne@aRealCFO.com.au

The other day I posted a video from one of my events where I talked about focusing on your strengths and not your weaknesses.

And my views are backed up by research Gallup.  Gallup found that if you are not in your “strengths zone” you are six times less likely to be engaged in your job.  When you’re not able to use your strengths at work, chances are that you:

• dread going to work;
• have more negative than positive interactions with your colleagues;
• treat customers poorly;
• achieve less on a daily basis; and,
• have fewer positive and creative moments.

And the problems many people face is that they are unaware of, or unable to describe, their own strengths.

So how do you overcome this and work out your strengths?

One way I have done this is by completing the CliftonStrengths assessment.  This is an online assessment tool with a whole heap of paired statements and you choose which one best describes you.  It’s an instinctive thing as you get about 20 seconds to answer each statement.  You don’t get long to mull over your answer.

The aim of this is to measure your natural patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving to identify your top areas of “talent”.

Once you know your talents, you can invest in these by spending time practicing and developing your skills and building your knowledge base.

Combining your talents with your investment gives you, your strengths. 

Talent alone is not enough.  You could be a golfing protégé at 10, but with no more investment in practice you could just be a golf caddy at 25.

Nor is investment alone enough.  It is no point taking singing lessons for 10 years if you are naturally tone deaf.

Hence why Tom Rath says “You cannot be anything you want to be — but you can be a lot more of who you already are”.

If you want to focus on your strengths, you first need to understand your natural talents and then double down and invest in them.   

What have you done to understand your strengths?

If your business needs some help to find its track out of the current situation, just contact me below

Contact Wayne Wanders for your FREE Business Survival Session

To ensure I help your business specifically, the best approach I have found is to have an obligation free session with you.  In this session we will review your current business in a factual and objective manner, to better understand the challenges that you face.  And this session does not need to be face to face.

At the end of this session, you will have multiple ideas on how your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Simply fill in the contact form below or email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052 to organise one of these obligation free sessions.

To get help you successfully navigate your way through your financial challenges so your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times, simply use the contact form on the left to email Wayne or call him on 0412 227 052.

Let Wayne Wanders, a fully qualified and experienced CFO, help you successfully navigate your way through your financial challenges so your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO

wayne@aRealCFO.com.au

Now how many people have heard the thing about your weaknesses and you should focus on your weakness and fix them?

Well, it is my belief that there is no point focusing on your weaknesses, you have to focus on your strengths. That’s the important bit, double down on your strengths; and your weaknesses, employ someone else to do things you are not good at.

If you are in business, do you want to focus on the things you well or the things you don’t do too well?  What do you want to focus on?  The things you do well.

So in your business, what are your strengths?  What are focusing on?  What sets you apart from everyone else?

If your business needs some help to find its track out of the current situation, just contact me below

Contact Wayne Wanders for your FREE Business Survival Session

At the end of this session, you will have multiple ideas on how your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Simply fill in the contact form below or email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052 to organise one of these obligation free sessions.

Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO

wayne@aRealCFO.com.au

Today, 26 May is National Sorry Day.  It is a day to recognise the grief, suffering and loss suffered by the stolen generations and the mistreatment of Australia’s Indigenous peoples

The first is that very few Australians really know the truth about our history.   For example, many people would know about Australia’s so called biggest mass murder which happened in Port Arthur in 1996, where 35 people were killed.  How many people know about what happened at Myall Creek in 1838 where at least 28 indigenous men, women and children were massacred?   And we only know about this because a plucky Irishman decided to prosecute the perpetrators of this horror and they become the first “white” people to be hanged for killing indigenous people in Australia.

The second is that what happened at Myall Creek is not an isolated incident.  If you actually take the time to read the stories and history of the interaction of the “white” people with our indigenous peoples, you will hear story after story of how the “white” society denigrated and mistreated our indigenous peoples.  There are so many reasons to say sorry to our indigenous peoples because of the actions and inactions of past non-indigenous Australians.

The third thing I am sad about is that this is just one day.  Many non-indigenous people believe that glibly mouthing the Acknowledgement of Country, they are paying respect to our indigenous peoples.  I often cringe when I hear the Acknowledgement of Country from a non-indigenous person.  In my view, we should be saying sorry for the mistreatment of the Australia’s Indigenous peoples in the past and promise to do better in the future.  That way we are saying sorry on more than one day a yea

If you truly want to say sorry to the indigenous people of Australia, go and educate yourself about what they endured and vow that this should never be repeated.

And don’t forget National Reconciliation week starts 27 May

Note the image is a photo of a painting in our personal collection by Jane Oliver, which appears on the front cover of the paperback book “Charles Perkins A Biography”.  For those who don’t know, Charles Perkins was a key indigenous person in the 1965 Freedom Ride and the first indigenous person to become a permanent head of a federal government department.

Contact Wayne Wanders for your FREE Business Survival Session

At the end of this session, you will have multiple ideas on how your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Simply fill in the contact form below or email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052 to organise one of these obligation free sessions.

Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO

wayne@aRealCFO.com.au

The chances are high that you suffer from the Imposter Syndrome.  And this could be costing you thousands and thousands of dollars.  Watch this video to learn how to beat the Imposter Syndrome so you can get paid more.

Contact Wayne Wanders for your FREE Business Survival Session

At the end of this session, you will have multiple ideas on how your business can survive and thrive in these uncertain times.

Simply fill in the contact form below or email me at wayne@aRealCFO.com.au or call me on 0412 227 052 to organise one of these obligation free sessions.

Wayne Wanders, A Real CFO

wayne@aRealCFO.com.au