Ask any CEO or executive leader why they do what they do and they’ll tell you it’s the thrill of building or creating something new. Bringing a new product to market, achieving new goals, market leadership, and of course making money. It’s about seeing a dream come to fruition and building a team of people that are as passionate as they are. The thrill of victory, as they say.
On the other hand, there are the more challenging aspects of leadership. One of the biggest challenges we see in the work that we do is the challenge of focus. There is a tension that every leader must acknowledge, hold and stand in: balancing the tension between working in the business and on the business.
Working IN the business;
- Revenue
- Profit and Loss
- Marketing & Sales
- Customer Service and Success
- Investors
- New Products
Working ON the business;
- Employee Engagement
- Strategy
- Communication
- Meetings
- Creating and guarding culture
- Constantly reinforcing clarity
Working IN the business 100% of the time early on, will gain us traction and move the ball forward. But as an organization grows larger and more complex, the necessity to spend a significant amount of time working ON the business will be essential to continued growth and success.
Setting time aside to work ON the business is just as important as working IN the business. Set time aside to slow down, evaluate, look under the hood and ideate. The ROI is priceless.