Are You Working IN the Business or ON It?

If you’re leading a printing company, you know the drill: your day starts with the best intentions and a great to-do list, and before you know it, you’re knee-deep in fires to put out. Oh, and don’t forget that your team and your customers need your attention as well. Sound familiar? The real challenge is making sure those daily decisions don’t bury you or your long-term vision for the business. Ask yourself: am I focused on doing the things that I’m uniquely qualified to be doing right now?

Working IN vs. Working ON the Business

There’s a big difference between working in the business and working on it.

Working in means you’re tackling the day-to-day issues: operational tasks, troubleshooting, getting jobs out the door, handling customer issues. It’s necessary, sure – but doing only that leaves you treading water.

Working on the business is where real growth happens: setting strategy, driving innovation, thinking about how to future-proof your company so you’re not just reacting — you’re leading, you’re intentional. This time and this work allows you to hone your skills at anticipating change. By the way, a great read on this subject is Seeing Around Corners, How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen, by Rita McGrath

Why Leaders Must Make the Shift

If you’re always in the weeds, you risk burnout — not just for yourself, but for your team. Sorry, but that’s what happens. The business can stagnate. You miss chances to innovate or grab new opportunities. Don’t let your business hit that proverbial ceiling of complexity.

But when you find that balance between working in and on the business? That’s where the magic happens. You build sustainable growth. You strengthen your leadership team. And you make smarter, more confident decisions: the kind that can move your company forward.

Three Habits of Big-Picture Printing Leaders

So how do the best leaders do it? I’ve seen a few common threads:

They allocate time intentionally. They block time on their calendars for strategic thinking and protect it like it’s their most important client.

They articulate the vision clearly. If your team doesn’t know where you’re headed, they can’t help as much as they could. Big-picture leaders make sure everyone sees the roadmap.

They empower decision-making. When the vision is clear, you can trust your team to make the right calls because they get the bigger goal. This also highlights whether you have the right folks on the team.

Practical Tips for Print Industry Leaders

Here are a few ways you can put this into action right now. Set aside dedicated “strategy hours” each week. No emails. No production calls. Just time to work on the business. This could also turn into your Saturday morning yellow pad.

Make your business plan a living document, not something that gathers dust in a binder. If there aren’t notes in the margins and dog-eared pages, you’re not trying hard enough. Review it with your team regularly and adjust as needed.

Use huddles and meetings to tie the day-to-day back to the big picture. Connect the dots so everyone knows how their work supports the company’s direction. Always keep the main thing the main thing.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, leaders set the tone and the course. Balancing urgency and strategy isn’t easy – but it’s essential if you want your business to thrive long-term. So, ask yourself: are you making time to work on the business?

Mike Philie helps owners and CEOs in the Graphic Communications Industry validate what’s working, identify what needs to change, and create a practical path forward. Learn more at philiegroup.com or reach out at mphilie@philiegroup.com

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.