The Duncan Principle.

The Peter Principle is that employees will eventually be promoted to their level of incompetence. 

The Duncan Principle is that business owners will expand to their level of incompetence. 

I have spent most of the second half of my career warning other small businesses not to take on too much work. To beware of burnout. To the point where I honestly believe burnout can be as dangerous as incompetence to a business. That overextending is at least as dangerous as not doing enough.

We're indoctrinated to the idea that we must do everything we can--open earlier, stay open later, open every day, open Thanksgiving and Christmas!, deliver, gift wrap, special order, open for midnight events, open for events of all kinds, offer services above and beyond the strictly necessary, offer services that the customers demand because the customer is always right.

We read stories of business owners working 50, 60, 70, > hours a week. But joyously, of course!

We're told that only the exceptional survive, that you can't be ordinary, that you must over-achieve and keep on over-achieving. 

It's completely expected and completely insidious. 

For the first half of my career, I did all those things. I called it "heavy lifting." It was almost of matter of keeping the store alive through sheer willpower. Then it all crashed down anyway, and I suddenly realized that not only was I not making money--I wasn't happy doing it. I mean, it has to be one or the other.

I decided on happiness. I decided not to chase every dollar.

I also decided that true success was having a store that was self-sustaining without the heavy lifting. That is, where procedures and inventory and atmosphere brought in enough revenue to keep the business going. 

When Linda and I opened the Bookmark, our guiding principle was: "Keep it simple, stupid."

Too much work creeps up on me anyway. I can't seem to help it. 

The reason I'm writing this is that I can tell that I'm tipping back into bad habits. It's really, really hard for me to forego opportunity. I want to shore up the store every chance I get.

And yet, the store is self-sustaining as it is. Incremental improvements should keep that going. Instead, I'm making decisions that are more substantial than that. I'm trying to remind myself of my own warnings--to cool it. 

I just have to keep reminding myself of that.