Make your job smaller

When we start a business we are chef, cook and bottle washer.  We are doing a lot – because there is nobody else to do these things.  Progress is slow.  We try to do better by working lots of hours.  We may love it in the beginning, but over time we realize that we only have so many hours in a day.  If “freedom” was one reason we started a business, we realize we are a slave instead.

As we grow, we need to get the right people to join our team.  We need to cut off chunks of our job and get others to do them.  To grow fast, we need to keep doing this – making our job smaller until we are doing only the vital most important tasks – and doing them really well.

The vital things we may hold onto at the end may be –

Resource and capital allocation

Strategic marketing

Positioning the company in the marketplace

Recruiting

Innovation

Make your job smaller.  Empower others to do most of what you are doing now, and focus on the big things that will move the needle tomorrow.