Do you want to build a business that runs smoothly without your constant involvement? What if you could create exponential growth while working less?
Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy’s book, 10x Is Easier Than 2x, reveals the blueprint for creating a self-sustaining business that operates efficiently without micromanagement. They help entrepreneurs delegate effectively, develop strong leaders, and foster a culture of continuous growth.
Continue reading to learn how to turn your company into a thriving enterprise.
Promote 10x Growth Within Your Company
If you’re an entrepreneur, Sullivan and Hardy suggest that you promote 10x growth within your business and build a self-sustaining business that operates smoothly without your day-to-day involvement. They explain that many entrepreneurs try to do everything themselves or micromanage the people they have working for them, which limits their company’s growth and creates bottlenecks in their business.
(Shortform note: In Clockwork, Mike Michalowicz describes three benefits to becoming a hands-off business leader: First, when employees manage day-to-day work, you can improve your company’s framework to prevent issues instead of constantly putting out fires. Second, since you’re no longer tied to urgent daily tasks, you gain the flexibility to work on your own schedule and achieve better work-life balance. Third, this freedom from constantly managing crises gives you the energy and motivation to think creatively about improving your business.)
Sullivan and Hardy provide three steps to help you get your company on track to becoming a self-sustaining business with 10x growth.
Step 1: Delegate Tasks
Sullivan and Hardy write that the first step is to delegate tasks you’re currently doing that don’t play to your strengths. Instead of trying to do everything yourself, develop your leadership skills and find people with the right skills and abilities to handle various tasks and responsibilities. For example, instead of managing every client interaction, you might hire a customer service specialist to handle those tasks.
Delegating tasks like scheduling, email management, and other logistical work gives you more time and energy to use your special strengths and explore new opportunities for your business—like researching markets, developing products, or forming strategic partnerships that were previously out of reach due to time constraints.
The authors note that once you delegate tasks, you must let go of control and trust your team members to handle tasks in their own way. Micromanaging will only frustrate them and hold you back from focusing on the activities that create the most value. While it can feel scary at first, trusting others to do things without your constant oversight helps you become a true leader rather than a bottleneck.
| How to Delegate Effectively Many leaders struggle with delegation because they don’t know how to let go of control without losing quality. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey explains that there are two approaches to delegation: gofer delegation and stewardship delegation. Gofer delegation is when you micromanage every detail and constantly check in with the person you’ve delegated the task to—exactly what Sullivan and Hardy warn against. In contrast, stewardship delegation focuses on clearly communicating the desired results while giving people freedom to choose their own methods. For stewardship delegation to work, Covey says you need to invest time upfront to set clear expectations in six areas: the required results, any guidelines or parameters, methods to avoid, available resources, how you’ll measure success, and the consequences of success or failure. Communicating these expectations helps prevent misunderstandings while still giving people autonomy when it comes to how they complete their tasks. |
Step 2: Replace Yourself With Capable Leaders
Next, Sullivan and Hardy recommend you develop leaders who can run your company without your daily involvement. The goal is to build a team that can make decisions and solve problems independently. By developing a strong leadership team, you free yourself even more to focus on bigger-picture strategy and innovation.
Start by identifying and training key leaders who can take on more responsibility, either by promoting from within or bringing in outside talent. Provide these prospective leaders with opportunities to take on more responsibility and decision-making authority, then gradually delegate more of your duties to them while offering guidance and support. As they grow into their expanded roles, you can step back from daily management. For example, you might groom department heads to manage their areas autonomously.
| Should You Promote From Within or Hire From Outside? While it can be tempting to search far and wide for top leadership talent, research shows that promoting from within your company is better for long-term success. In Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras explain that the most successful organizations filled only 3.5% of their CEO positions with outsiders, while less successful companies hired outsiders 22% of the time. The authors reason that internal leaders already understand and believe in the company’s core values and purpose. Knowing this, successful companies start planning for succession years in advance, developing multiple internal candidates through intensive training programs. The authors point to Colgate’s experience, which demonstrates the risks of outside hiring: When they merged with Palmolive-Peet and brought in an outside CEO, their profits dropped by more than half because the new leader made big changes that didn’t align with the company’s core philosophy. |
Step 3: Encourage Everyone to Pursue 10x Growth
Once you’ve created a self-sustaining company, encourage everyone to continually refine their roles to focus on their top strengths, creating a 10x growing team. You can do this by fostering a culture of freedom where all team members feel encouraged to clarify and expand their special strengths.
As people home in on their strengths, they can delegate their other responsibilities to new hires who are excited to take them on. This allows the team to organically expand while everyone does what they do best. For example, a marketing manager might realize her true talent lies in creative strategy, so she brings on a new team member to handle the data analysis she previously struggled with.
| Become a Multiplier Leader The key to building a team that grows exponentially lies in how you view your employees’ potential. In Multipliers, the authors explain that there are two types of leaders: Multipliers who bring out the best in others, and Diminishers who suppress people’s potential. While Multipliers can access up to 100% of their team members’ capabilities, Diminishers only tap into 20-50%. This difference stems from their core beliefs: Multipliers believe people can grow and improve, while Diminishers think talent is rare and fixed. To unleash your team’s full potential, adopt the mindset of a Multiplier. The authors found that Multipliers maintain high expectations while staying intellectually curious—they ask a lot of questions and see their team as a source of learning rather than just executors of tasks. By fostering this environment where people can discover and expand their strengths, you create the conditions for sustainable, 10x team growth. |
