Where are you spending most of your time? As Michael Gerber the best selling author of “The E-Myth Revisited” points out, if you own a business, you probably have three separate roles that you fulfill in this order: 

• Technician: Handles problems, designs the products or the service. For example, in a law firm or a dental practice the tasks of the lawyer or dentist is the work of the technician.
• Manager: Directing, mentoring, guiding and correcting the team members to help them develop. Many times, this is a reactive/corrective role verses focus on achieving maximum return on the business’ investment in the team. This role is key for maintaining the team’s performance standards and the customer experience. 
• Shareholder: Owns the business and allocates resources. 

Most business owners spend their time as Technicians and Managers--working IN their businesses, fixing problems and handling the day to day tasks of the business.  Here’s the big aha!  You can (and should) hire or develop personnel to handle both the technician and manager roles. The one role you cannot hire for is the role of the owner. 

The role of owner is a strategic position with time spent on goals, direction, investment required, acquiring competitors and the intended exit plan of the business. These are tasks that only the owner can do effectively since it is their capital and resources that are directly affected.  Most small business owners spend so much time putting out fires with customers, vendors or team members that they never spend the time focusing ON the strategic aspects of their businesses:

• Where do you want your business to go and how fast can you achieve your goals?  
• How can you create advantages over other businesses in your industry? 
• How quickly can you adjust the direction to respond to new market changes to stay a step ahead? 

These are questions that owners should focus on.  

How much time do you spend as a Technician, Manager, and Owner?

What percentage of your time should be spent in each role for you to achieve your personal and professional goals?