By Neil Phillips.
Who wouldn’t want to work smarter, not harder? It sounds so simple, but what exactly does working smarter, not harder, look like?
Michael Gerber started a discussion around this topic in his book E-Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It when he brought out the idea that working ‘on’ your business instead of ‘in’ your business makes all the difference. Working ‘in’ your business is about doing the tasks that keep your business going. Working ‘on’ your business is about taking time to create the most effective and efficient methods of success. You still engage in the activities of your business. The difference is that they are organized and planned in a way that strategically leads to your desired outcome.
When you are working ‘in’ your business, you seem to be moving in lots of different directions and using lots of energy. You work hard; it often feels too hard for the progress you are making. You are very busy with the ‘activities’ of your business. Working ‘in your business is about accomplishing the tasks to keep it running, like booking parties and setting appointments, handling paperwork, making calls, and holding meetings. Working ‘on your business is about planning, creating systems and processes that streamline and make the tasks predictable and duplicable, things like creating a business plan, designing and implementing a program for training new consultants or emerging leaders, taking time to find out ‘the why’ of each team member.
Working ‘on’ your business produces the systems that create a steady, predictable workflow, results, and paycheck, something we all want, correct?
So why don’t we work ‘on’ our businesses instead of only ‘in’ them? I believe it’s because we don’t like delayed gratification. We don’t like to pay now, so we can play later… we want to play NOW!! It takes time to realize the benefits of a business plan or training new people. We don’t get the immediate ‘feel good feeling’ like we do after a big sale, a party, or a new team member signs on. We must wait and invest our time and energy over time before we realize the incredible sense of pride that comes when we see someone we mentored up on stage for promoting or earning a top award.
How about you? Are you willing to pay now to play later – to work smarter, not harder, to work ‘on’ your business instead of always ‘in’? If so, stay tuned as we continue to share practical, real ways to work ‘on’ your business, leader-tested methods, and practices that not only work; they work smarter, not harder!
Will You Say “Yes” to Working Smarter?
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