By Daniel McMahon
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July 1, 2025
Let’s get one thing straight: CEOs don’t suffer from a shortage of ideas. They suffer from a shortage of focus. It’s not always a strategy issue. It’s not always a talent issue. It’s oftentimes a focus issue. A recent study by Harvard Business Review tracked large-company CEOs over a 13-week period and found that the average leader spends 36% of their time reacting to unexpected issues, with only 11% on routine duties tasks that could typically be delegated I talk to business owners every day who are stuck. Not because their companies aren’t growing many are. They’re feeling stuck because they’re adding work, not value. The business is expanding, but they’re more exhausted than ever, buried in distractions, unsure if their time is making the impact that it should. If that sounds familiar, here’s the hard truth: your business can’t outgrow your lack of clarity. Growth is a Focus Problem, Not a Capacity Problem Many leaders think the answer to growth is more: more marketing, more meetings, more tools, more talent, more money. But the real answer the one that actually works is less. Less noise. Less chaos. Less doing. You scale not by doing more, but by doing less better. And it starts at the top. If the CEO isn’t focused, no one else will be. Compartmentalize to Multiply We help leaders grow by helping them focus. And the key to helping them focus is breaking the business into five essential parts: 1. Sales & Marketing 2. People & HR 3. Admin & Finance 4. Client Delivery 5. Owner Initiatives Everything that happens in your company lives inside one of these five areas above. Once you compartmentalize, you can prioritize. Once you prioritize, you can delegate. And once you delegate, you can finally do what only you can do: drive the strategies and tactics that will make your business a success in the minds of its stakeholders. That's the essence of what we call *highest and best use* getting you, your team, and your systems aligned with the work that drives real value. Clarity is a System, Not a Slogan Once your business is broken into these parts, it becomes easier to implement clarity across three crucial dimensions: 1- Roles & Responsibilities – Is everyone clear on what they own? 2- Policies & Procedures – Are there repeatable systems in place? 3- Metrics & Goals – Is performance defined, measured, and aligned? When those elements are murky, teams spin. When they’re clear, the machine runs. The Real CEO Job Too many business owners are still in the weeds, wearing too many hats, babysitting every decision. That’s not leadership it’s firefighting disguised as hard work. Your real job as CEO isn’t to run every department and put out every fire. It’s to *create focus*. Focus for yourself. Focus for your team. Focus on the right things, at the right time, with the right people. So What’s the Next Step? If you feel like your growth is costing you clarity, or your role is expanding while your impact shrinks we have a tool that might help. It’s called the Growth & Value Assessment . It’s completely free and takes only 15 minutes to complete. The assessment will help you identify areas where your business may be scattered… and where you need to improve your focus. Because once you fix your focus, everything else will fall into place.