Would I still be working on this task if we had triple the customers?

I’ve found one of the most challenging things of running a company that’s growing quickly is determining what I, the CEO, should be working on.

For me, a daily challenge is determining “what is the best thing for me to work on this week?”

A mental model I’ve created to help is to answer the question “Would I still be doing this if we had triple the customers we do now?”

In a hyper-growth stage, systems break down extraordinarily fast.((not tech systems – business systems))

Rickety technology needs better infrastructure. Systems and processes need documented with explicit areas for flexibility for when particular milestones are achieved.

Take “this task.” “This task” is the task in front of me that I could do or could delegate (to a human or an AI). 

Keep in mind: delegation requires finding and paying someone to do it and managing it, which often I feel too lazy (or cheap) to do, so it often “feels easier” to just do the task.

My decision-making criteria is the following:

“Would I still be doing this task if we had triple the customers we do now?”

For the present – achieving triple the customers

• Can I help my team remove blockers? That’s always thing #1. It helps the organization move faster in the present.

• If “this task” helps us achieve triple the customers (and I play a role), I focus on it.

For the future – we’ve achieved triple the customers

• If I wouldn’t have time for “this task,” I start building a system to support triple the customers now.

• If I would be doing “this task” with triple the customers, I do the task.

As I’ve been thinking about it, I think the biggest trap to avoid is the “it’s fun” trap.  The “it’s fun” trap is when a task is fun to do, but you wouldn’t have time for it if you had triple the customers you do now.

“It’s fun” is actually a form of procrastination.  It should be avoided. Just rip the bandaid off. If I really loved it, I would feel like it’s more important with triple the customers.  Instead, it’s just helping me avoid something else.