3 Essential Types of Work (That Will Stop Your Business From Stalling)

You're working 60+ hour weeks.

Team meetings. Client calls. Fire drills.

Yet your business feels stuck.

You fix problems. You deliver work. But growth is flat.

What's missing?

Every business runs on three kinds of work:

• Technical: delivering the actual product
• Managerial: making sure it's delivered well
• Entrepreneurial: deciding where the business is headed

If you don't spend time doing each, your growth stops. And your sanity suffers.

Here's what happens when you get this right:

• You produce work without burning out
• You lead without micromanaging
• You steer towards long-term success

The ultimate benefit? A business that runs with clarity, direction, and results.

Tip 1: Stop Doing Only Technical Work

When you founded your business, you were the technician. We all are when we start.

You treated, brewed, cooked, coded, designed. Whatever your business does. You did it.

And you were likely great at it. That's why you launched the business in the first place.

But getting stuck in the Technical work keeps your business stuck.

This is the core mistake many founders make.

Michael Gerber, in The E-Myth Revisited, says 90% of small businesses fail for this exact reason.

They never learn to work ON the business, instead of only in it.

You need to free yourself from being one of the "doers."

That can feel wrong when that's what got you started.

But here's what to do:

• Schedule time weekly (start with 2 hours) where you do no technical tasks
• Observe how your team delivers without you
• Document what works and what doesn't

Picture a Dragon Boat. (See above)

The paddlers do the Technical work.

But without a drummer or a steersperson guiding the boat, it spins or stalls.

It's the same with your business.

When you hand off Tactical work and start thinking upstream, you see more clearly.

Build that time in. Protect it.

Tip 2: Do Managerial Work Without Becoming a Traffic Cop

I once managed a growing team and spent my whole week fixing their mistakes.

I wasn't leading. I was patching holes.

That's bad management.

Managerial work isn't about control.

It's about:

• Defining plays
• Putting the right people in position
• Supporting your team to get better week after week

Here's how to do it better:

• Design structured 1:1 Employee Development Meetings (EDMs) focused on support, not directives
• Define clear roles and responsibilities. Spell out what success looks like.
• Use systems that reduce interruptions, and document them in your Playbook

Think of the drummer in the Dragon Boat.

They keep the rhythm.

Good managers do the same.

They help the team execute smoothly.

Poor managers interrupt. Great managers align.

If you're walking around being a "traffic cop," you're wasting time.

Instead, try building autonomy:

• Ask your team what slows them down
• Give them tools to fix those bottlenecks themselves
• Measure progress, not effort

Start supporting performance without enforcing it.

Think of the best Coach you or your kids have ever had. What did they do? Do more of that.

Your players will see the difference. And they will play harder.

Tip 3: Do Entrepreneurial Work Every Week

This is where you decide what gets done.

It's not about daily to-dos.

It's about direction.

Most founders avoid this. Or they don't even know they're not doing it.

Urgent problems crowd out long-term thinking. Interruptions keep you off balance and without time to think.

And if your players don't know what direction you're headed?

Your business stays busy. But it goes nowhere.

You look back at a year ago and feel like you're in the same place.

If that's not where you want to be a year from now, try this.

Here's a better system:

• Block 1-2 hours a week for strategic thinking. No excuses. (It'll be hard to stick to this in the beginning... but it's so important.)
• Ask one question: Where are we going?
• Translate what you learn into priorities your team can understand

Entrepreneurial work means you:

• Define values
• Choose which plays to run
• Communicate strategy clearly

This makes your business intentional. And gives your players clarity.

No more chasing trends. No more "what now?"

A Dragon Boat without a steersperson ends up off-course.

So does your business without your leadership.

You don't need to be in the captain's chair all the time. But you do need to spend some time there each week.

That's how you define direction, create clarity, and build momentum.

The Big Takeaway

• You have to do more than deliver the work
• You have to lead without standing over shoulders
• You have to steer your business with intention

Most founders fail because they stay in the paddlers' seat.

Step into the other seats, even for a couple hours a week.

Your team, your business, and your future will thank you.