Be a more effective entrepreneur by... going on vacation?

Have you ever noticed that the most successful entrepreneurs among us usually have a tan? They always seem to have just gotten back from an amazing trip to somewhere tropical. Meanwhile, you can’t even imagine leaving your business for a weekend getaway. Is it the success of their business that allows them to go on frequent vacations, or is the act of going on vacation somehow helping to drive their success? Yes. Both.

Aside from the sandy beaches, slushy drinks and detangled headspace, there is a real benefit to spending some time outside of your business.

It forces you to find ways for the business to run without you in it. How does this make you more effective as an entrepreneur? Simple. For your business to grow, it needs you to be focused on the future, and not so much the tactile day-to-day activity. As Michael E. Gerber so aptly details in his book E Myth, the role of the entrepreneur needs to be focused on working on the business, rather than working in the business.

The job you sign up for as an entrepreneur is to identify gaps in the market, develop a plan for how to best capitalize on them (while curtailing risk), and then develop systems and a culture that enable other people to do the work of the business.

This isn’t to suggest that as an entrepreneur, you won’t get your hands dirty. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. However, working towards systems that allow other people to take over the work you do in your business should be at the root of everything you do.

An upcoming vacation is a great way to place a spotlight on the areas of your business that are solely reliant on you. These are the functions that, for one reason or another, you chose to do rather than delegate. To fully appreciate what this looks like, start by creating a list of all the tasks you do personally in a day, week, and month. Prepare this as a spreadsheet so you can add notes and names next to each task as you assign coverage. 

Once you have a comprehensive list, assign an understudy to each task, and make a training plan. Take a long-term approach to this, beyond just the upcoming vacation time. Having an understudy for everything you do ensures your team knows who is accountable for what any time you’re away – planned or unplanned.

When you get back from your time away, pay very close attention to the tasks that are waiting for you (or worse, interrupted your vacation) – the items that either had no one else assigned to complete them, or that your team did not feel comfortable dealing with themselves. It’s important to determine which of these tasks you feel are indeed worthy of your attention, and which you would rather someone else have dealt with. 

If done right, you will find that a good number of tasks that you previously did personally do not need to return to you.

This will not only free-up some of your time, but will also keep your team progressing. If you have hired the right people, they will appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities, and will be hungry to hold some additional responsibility long term. 

Based on this insight, does this make the trip a legitimate tax write-off? I’m going to leave that one for the accounting professionals. In the meantime, start plan that trip!

Gavin Harrison is co-founder at Compello Consulting, business strategist and the creator of ATLAS? - The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Transformative Strategic Planning.