We know more and more about less and less. That is fine. The trick here is not to try to know everything and do everything yourself. This applies to the external experts you use to help run your business as much as it applies to staff.
The greatest thing to find is a team member who is better than you. In gathering that great team, make sure the team is full of people you like. Don’t engage your accountant just on his accounting background—make sure you are also happy to have a beer and barbecue with him.
Work out the parts of the business where you really are an expert. If you have areas where you know less about what you are doing, ask someone who does know. Someone who says he is an expert in everything is known as a “Jack of all trades, master of none” and not something desirable.
When you break it down, there are really three main components of a business: the core business itself, which is the reason it exists; the marketing of the business; and the accounting in the business. Assuming you are an expert at the core business, outsource at least marketing and accounting.
Once you gather a great team (of staff and outsourced professionals), then listen to them. You are neither the first nor will you be the last to do most things, so listen and be open to advice. The fact you are reading this book tells me you are prepared to listen to advice from other people.
I had a friend once (actually, I have more than one but this story is about one of them) who was brilliant at his chosen occupation but took it upon himself to do everything in the business. He was the sales, customer relations and IT department. You name it, he did it. The biggest problem he had was that when new work presented itself, he was always too busy to produce the work because he had 17 hats to wear. To this day, he constantly feels under pressure to produce because he is limiting himself to only a few productive hours a day taking care of his core business. He needs to focus on his pure genius and then delegate everything else. Heads are made for only one hat!