Talking to first time CEOs and executives in high growth companies, the thing that overwhelms them the most is the nagging feeling that they have to actively operate the business or everything falls apart. This often leads to exhaustion, mental first and then physical, which in turn hurts their ability to do their actual job.

Like most other things, I had to learn this the hard way and was forced to hire lieutenants during my first stint as a senior manager. Steve Jobs was once quoted that about 50% of his time is unstructured (can’t find the quote now). I think that’s roughly true. Spending time away from tactical responsibilities allows you to:

1. Think strategically. One CEO told me how the first time he took a vacation after 4 years in the trenches led to deeper thinking and an acquisition by a public company. Worrying about tactical issues drains that capacity for strategic thought.
2. Fix major issues. As a senior exec you’re going to get involved to steady the ship, right a wrong, save a major relationship. This is especially common in enterprise startups where you’re often fodder for the client’s senior execs to chew on to protect your team. This is both stressful and humbling and cannot be done if you’re exhausted.
3. Convince. Once you reach a certain size it’s not about just fight or flight anymore. You have a large team of opinionated people and you need to inspire, convince, and direct them instead of practicing battlefield command and control.

The amount of time I spend thinking, talking, and writing about the business rather than creating anything will surprise anyone and stands in complete contrast to the “creator” myth that startupland loves so much. As a growth CEO it’s my job to become an ideas merchant, not a builder. Staying at the right level of abstraction and leaving a lot of unstructured time is critical.