Working ON your business is the skill that every business owner needs to build to create a thriving company that doesn’t depend on you to produce results. Turning what you know how to do really well into systems—step-by-step processes—that others can use effectively is something that anyone with the desire can lea...
I’ve never known a business owner who didn’t feel they needed to spend more time working on their business and less time working in it. But so many find it difficult to make the time to do it. If you’re predominantly a Technician in your business, someone who spends most of your time making, selling or delivering ...
Imagine what kind of workplace your business would be if your employees thought to themselves: "I’m excited about my work.” “This is a place where I can achieve my goals.” “I feel safe. It’s okay to make a mistake, and I will learn from it.” “I have some great ideas on how to improve things. I can’t wait to share ...
This year, I’m celebrating my 40th Anniversary at EMyth. I joined the company as an entry-level salesperson in 1982 at the age of 29. I’d just moved to northern California from the East Coast in search of a new direction after leaving a PhD program at MIT in public policy. As a graduate student, it dawned on me th...
If you’ve ever had the thought that you weren’t a good leader or didn’t know how to be one, you’re not alone. Business owners rarely go into business for themselves in order to become the leader of a company. In truth, most are looking to secure a “job” where they can provide their product or service free of a bos...
As an entrepreneur, you likely start every day with an endless to-do list. So, how do you prioritize? What’s the most important thing (or things) to focus on? And how do you prevent yourself from fighting fires all day, only to feel like you didn’t really accomplish anything at the end of the day? The key to using...
The phrase “Work On It, Not Just In It” has been part of business vernacular for more than 35 years, ever since Michael Gerber coined it in The EMyth Revisited. Its message speaks to so many entrepreneurs who can’t see any other way to do business than to build a business around their own ability to get things don...
Perhaps you know the famous proverb, “Give a man a fish and you’ll feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you’ll feed him for a lifetime.” It may seem like an obvious concept, but it’s surprisingly hard for business owners to embrace. The essence of this idea speaks perfectly to why you owe it to both yoursel...
When small business owners come to us for help, one of their most common questions is, “How do I create the systems my business needs?” And you know what? We love to hear that question. It means that those leaders are ready to take the right steps to work on their businesses, not in them.
A strong Leadership System is foundational to any business, but understanding leadership as a system (rather than merely certain competencies) is foreign to many entrepreneurs. Instead, business owners tend to focus on developing leadership skills—communication, team development, strategic thinking—which are unden...
If you’re fortunate enough to have taken your company on a journey through all of its highs and lows for 5, 10, even 20 years or more, chances are you’ve had those moments when you wished your business weren’t so damn dependent on you. No matter what you’ve achieved, most business owners know in their heart that i...
The first month of 2021 is behind us, and I’ve spent a good deal of it meeting with clients to revisit the annual plan they created late last year. If you haven’t sat down to review your own goals for the new year, now’s a great time to pause and check in. And it’s not necessarily to check progress on those goals,...
Last April, like many of you, I applied for the first round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds. My company had taken an immediate hit in revenue from the shock of the pandemic, and there was no certainty that it would rebound anytime soon. The only point of comparison I had was the 2009 financial crisis, a...
For better or worse (or both), 2020 has been an eye-opening time for business owners. As we close out a year that’s disrupted our lives and livelihoods in so many unexpected ways, we’d like to share some light. With all the challenges business owners have faced, there have been some equally remarkable lessons. Our...
One of the most transformative ideas I help business owners understand is the distinction between working on your business and working in it. But what does that really mean? Put simply, it’s the difference between strategic and tactical work.
As we enter the last quarter of the year, many businesses are in their sixth month of working from home, and many business owners are still struggling with the remoteness of their employees. Every day, they’re asking themselves, “What are they actually doing from home?” and strategizing ways to encourage engagemen...
If you run your own business, you know your role is just as personal as it is professional. You care deeply about the outcomes of your business—the impact it has and the results it creates—so the natural impulse is to put yourself at the center of the action. You work around the clock to ensure that your team is w...