Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself

Declare the Corporate Queen Bee Role—Identify the core function in your business that is the biggest determinant of your company’s success.

Many solopreneurs fall into the trap of having 95 percent or more of their time allocated to Doing. They are living in a time-for-money trap—the Survival Trap—where the only way to grow is by Doing more, but you can’t, because there is no time.

When you don’t readily have access to all the cash flowing through your business, you are

Balance the Team—Adjust roles and shift resources to maximize the efficiency and quality of the company’s offering.

The Survival Trap is what I call that never-ending cycle of reacting to whatever comes up in your business—be it a problem or an opportunity—in order to move on. It’s a trap because as we respond to what is urgent rather than what is important, we get the satisfaction of fixing a problem. The adrenaline rush of saving something—the account, the ord

When you give your employees all the answers, you block their learning.

My enemy was my ego.

Every entrepreneur starts out as a doer, because doing things is what we’re good at.

Protect and Serve the Queen Bee Role—Empower your team to ensure the biggest determinant of your company’s success is guarded and fulfilled.