Working 'on' the strategy, not 'in' the strategy

Working 'on' the strategy not 'in' the strategy: for those unfamiliar to this phrase, it comes from the phrase “work on the business, not in the business”, meaning that as the owner/leader of a business you should spend time on the strategic elements of the business to achieve its goals, rather than on the execution or operational tasks.   

However, it applies to anyone, especially those who have to create and implement strategy and business plans.

Blake Henegan of Optimus writes:

The concept is simple.  Any time you spend on doing jobs that other people could be doing is time that could be spent on developing, reviewing and revising the strategy. For example, spending time micromanaging,  getting bogged down in simple details,  being everywhere for everyone, but not looking at the results of the actions.

Whatever you are doing, ask yourself – is it right that a person on my pay grade/seniority level is doing this?

Doing routine tasks? Delegate them.  Part of a process? Remove yourself from it.  Approving all budget spend?  Change approval levels.   And so on.

You might have to continue doing it while you find the resource, so use that time to document and refine the process before you pass down.

It’s impossible to stop working “in” and move to just working “on” overnight.  It relies on having a good team or finding good external resources.   It takes time and effort to stop micromanaging.  To learn to delegate responsibility, not the task.  And to let people do things their way to achieve your desired result.   You can give advice, create processes, provide guidance and ask people how they are getting on. 

For L&D professionals,  there is a challenge to create a strategy and then execute it.  Especially for those in a small or solo L&D team. So, be realistic,  you’ll have to prioritise,  and do some things yourself.  But always be thinking, what can I delegate, outsource or automate?   Can you hand responsibility back to employees?

It takes time, it takes hard work but if you can start thinking like this and making changes then in the future you’ll be in a better position and wish you’d started sooner.

This year, moving away from the “in” is one of my goals.  Its going to take hard work and I have business mentor to help me.   If you have no idea where to start, I recommend reading The E-Myth by Michael Gerber.  

I always like talking about this topic so if you want a chat and some friendly advice get in touch (blake@optimuslearningservices.com)

www.optimuslearningservices.com



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