Giving Up Control in Your Small Business — So You Can Do What You Do Best

I’ve been fortunate enough to strike up a friendship with Debra Snider, author of A Merger of Equals, former corporate general counsel and partner in a law firm. Little did I know that our eye-opening, one-on-one “book club” conversations would soon lead in another direction entirely — I’ve discovered that Debra not only produces can’t-put-it-down fiction; she’s also a no-nonsense business efficiency expert.

She’s written two books on the subject (one of them commissioned by the American Bar Association), in addition to an excellent series of “Suit Yourself” essays that are available – for free – in the Forum section of her website. “I believe – and I was able to build a very successful legal and business career based on my belief – that we must do a better job of suiting ourselves,” says Debra. “We must develop self-awareness, articulate our priorities, stop mistaking outcomes for goals, and focus our time and energy on what matters most.”

In perusing her writings today with my own small business in mind, I was struck by the following passage from the essay titled, “It’s About Priorities, Not Time”:

Personal control is … a luxury that steals your time away from the high value-added tasks. The goal is to do and control personally only what cannot be done without the value you add, and to design and implement process and system to do and control the rest.  The fact that you can do something or even that you like to do it doesn’t mean you should do it. You’re looking to create time, and the way to do that is to stick to your highest and best use.

This makes me think about some of the small business owners I know — and how they can get caught up in the details of a routine task that doesn’t really require their particular skill set. Perhaps you know someone like this. Because they are owners (and they understandably take their work very seriously), they feel they must be intimately involved in everything that goes on in the business. I’ve seen the trickle-down effect of this behavior, too — how it robs others of the joy of doing their own jobs well, without someone peering over their shoulders all the time, questioning their every move.

More to the point: it drives employees CRAZY.

Not the best way to create a fulfilling, energizing work environment. Or inspire legions of raving employee-fans. Uh, how’s your employee turnover rate?

So… what do you think is your “highest and best use” as a small business owner? How much of your day is taken up by those tasks that simply can’t get done without your specific expertise? You’d hope that’s a fairly high number, of course — but in fact, the Small Business Administration reports that the average small business owner spends up to 40% of their time on routine administrative tasks.

Good food for thought.

Here’s where I, the ever-ready freelance copywriter and undisputed owner of this blog, get to swoop in (wearing my virtual hero cape) and say:

Hey, if writing for your business isn’t YOUR highest and best use — or if it just takes you too darn much time — give me a call.

I’d be happy to dive in and be part of your team.

Photo Credit: Stebbi/NateSteiner via Creative Commons