Even entrepreneurs need to take some time to think the big thoughts.
At our company’s Thanksgiving potluck last week, I was chatting to a new employee about her holiday plans. When she asked in return what I would be doing, I said that I’d enjoy the family and food on Thanksgiving Day, but I’d be back to work right after that. “With so many people off work on Friday, I finally have a chance to catch up on all the big-picture projects I never manage to get to!”
“Of course,” she replied, “It’s the difference between working in your company and onit.”
That phrasing has stuck with me because it perfectly captures the constant tension business owners feel between responding to the next crisis (phone calls you just have to take, supplier contracts that only you can negotiate, customer service fiascos that require a personal response) and making sure the company is headed in the right direction. If you’re familiar with Stephen Covey’s classic, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, you’ll notice that I’m talking about the difference between tasks that are “important and urgent” and those that are “important but not urgent.”
…to read this article in full, visit leading US small business resource, Inc.
