Michael Gerber asked a deceptively simple question in The E-Myth Revisited: "Are you working IN the business… or ON the business?"
I love this distinction because it captures the daily tension every CEO and executive faces. Two roles. Two altitudes. Two mindsets.
Working IN the Business
This is the sleeves-rolled-up mode. Daily operations. Urgent issues. Escalations. Client complaints. Cash flow concerns. Deadlines.
It is loud. It is intense. It is immediate. It keeps the machine running.
And let’s be honest, it can be addictive. You feel useful. Needed. In control. By the end of the day, you have solved ten problems. But have you moved the business forward?
Working ON the Business
This is a different altitude. This is where you step back. You question direction. You anticipate shifts. You allocate capital. You shape capabilities. You prioritise transformation.
This is not about rowing harder. It is about steering the ship. It is not about activity. It is about trajectory.
And it rarely screams for attention the way operational fires do.
The Firefighting Trap
It does not have to be 50/50. But there should be a fair balance between strategic and operational, between important and urgent.
Yet what happens in reality? Firefighting 🔥🔥🔥 Back to back meetings. Crisis after crisis. Urgent matters consuming the calendar.
Strategy? Postponed. Again.
Sound familiar?
The Bigger Mistake: Mixing Both in the Same Room
Here is something even worse. Some leaders try to do everything at once. They cram urgent operational matters, performance reviews, transformation topics, and long-term strategic choices into the same meeting.
They call it a “strategy session.” Often the only strategic element of it is its name.
The result? Confusion. People leave wondering:
Are we here to fix a pressing operational issue?
Or to design the future?
Are we zoomed in?
Or zoomed out?
Are we IN the business?
Or are we ON the business?
These are entirely different conversations. One happens at ground level. The other at 30,000 feet.
When you mix them, you lose clarity. You lose focus. You dilute both.
Strategy Is Not Superior to Operations
Let’s be clear. Strategy is not more important than operations. If you ignore urgent issues and the business collapses, there will be no future to strategise about.
But the key is separation. Two types of meetings. Two types of purpose. Two types of tools.
✅ Operational Meetings
Daily or weekly.
Focused on execution, performance, and immediate issues.
✅ Strategic Meetings
Monthly or quarterly.
Focused on direction, priorities, transformation, and major trade-offs.
Different cadence. Different agenda. Different mindset.
When you protect strategic time with the same discipline as operational time, something shifts. You stop reacting to the future. You start shaping it.
So ask yourself:
How much of your time is spent in the business?
And how much is genuinely spent on the business?
Because leadership is not sinking under piles of operational issues. It is about thInking where the business is going.
Author: Anael Granoux | Strategy Advisor, Lecturer, Speaker