This episode of The Art of Entrepreneurship is for founders who’ve become the bottleneck in their own company.
Here’s the messy version: in a lot of places, work at my company still runs through me. I’ve finally admitted that’s a me problem, not a team problem.
Re-reading Essentialism by Greg McKeown (about the disciplined pursuit of less) called me out, because my week was full of things that didn’t need me. The clearest example is our client QBRs, where I was the final QA on almost every deck, comparing numbers and catching what was off a day or two before the meeting. I called that quality control, but really I was the safety net, quietly training people to hand me 90 percent and let me find the last 10.
So I’m making three changes:
Rebuilding the review flow so I’m last instead of first (with a five-business-day deadline)
Sending work back instead of fixing it myself
Giving feedback on the spot, even when it’s awkward.
It all ties back to episode 327, your old role has expired: being in everything made me good at my job five years ago, and it’s exactly what’s holding the company back now.
The hardest part isn’t the process; it’s watching something go out slightly different from how I’d have done it and letting it go anyway. A business that only works when I’m in the middle of it isn’t a business; it’s a job I built for myself.
Tune in if you’re ready to find the places where work still runs through you and move yourself out of the middle.
If you like this episode, here are some others you'll enjoy.
Episode 141. Do you have founder’s syndrome? w/ Erica Rankin – Why founders hold on to every task and how to let go
Episode 142. Prioritizing, delegating & asking for help: answering your questions – Handing off work without lowering the standard
Episode 341. 90% and done beats 100% and perfect – Letting good work ship without your fingerprints on every detail
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