I was talking to a friend a couple of weeks ago complaining about how busy I am. Our company continues to grow at a rate that sometimes leaves me feeling overwhelmed. On one hand, I am so excited about our growth and progress and really, really proud of our team. On the other hand, wow is there ever a lot to do. My friend asked me specifically what it was that I was doing that was keeping me so busy. I of course gave him my ever-growing list of "important" things I was working on and he asked my this simple question:
Are you doing things right as opposed to doing the right things?
Wow, that really made me think. I went back and thought about how many things I was doing right but that were perhaps, not the right things. Some tasks were on the list just to be able to check them off. Likewise, looking over the items on my list I realized that sometimes I may spend too much time trying to see ideas and processes down the chain of command from conception to completion rather than let my management team focus on the details. Trying to cull down my list to the essentials, I also reflected that I still struggle with implementing too many ideas and too much change at once and my mile-long to-do list is a reflection of that.
My friend’s question got me thinking but it was humbling too because it shows me that there is always more to learn. It helped me realize that I have to put the lion's share of my focus working on just those things that have the greatest impact on my business. As the leader of my company, I have to be careful to choose those ideas and advances that help give us direction and purpose. As a leader, it is my job to innovate and inspire and pass along this long-range perspective to our management team. It is my management team’s job to then focus on the systems and procedures to carry those ideas forward. Still, I can’t promise that I’ll always focus on the right things. After all, part of what makes an entrepreneur is a willingness and love of the many different parts of their business.
“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”
― Peter F. Drucker, Essential Drucker: Management, the Individual and Society
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