What's Important vs. What's Interesting.
Busy isn't the same as effective. Most of us learn that the hard way. Regardless of your role or the size of the business. Often, it happens gradually.
Allied has grown. So has my role. Somewhere in that growth, I got spread thin. A mile wide and an inch deep. Everything needed attention, so I gave a little to everything.
I was tired. Working hard. But not working optimally.
Here's what that cost me. Time with our customers. Time in the market, meeting new people, and building the relationships that grow this business. Those things mattered most. They just weren't the loudest thing on my screen each day. The urgent email won. The next task or project won. The thing that felt productive in the moment kept beating the thing that I knew actually was.
So, I hired. In my case, an executive assistant. A marketing coordinator. Someone better than I am at the things I'm not, so I could get back to the customers and the market, the two places where I move the needle.
I observe this in others often. Helped me to see it in myself. And others to see it in me. Perhaps you are feeling the same? Where is it for you? Where are you focusing on what’s interesting or in the “tyranny of the now” bucket? What are you going to do about it?
Lesson Learned: Being busy is easy. Being where you're needed most takes a decision, and sometimes it takes help.