I often get asked by our ACE Peer Group Members "What should I as the owner actually be doing in a day?" It's a valid question, and while the exact answer will depend on how your skillset and role fits within your organization, there's three big pieces of advice I give: 

Play to Your Strengths

Each owner has their own strengths and weaknesses, and ideally they should be spending most of their time using their strengths. In an ideal day, an owner is entirely focused on activities that they do better than anyone else on their team. The best way to make more of your days look like your ideal day is to use your calendar to make it happen: block out time for the most important tasks, events, and meetings and then stick to your calendar religiously. 

Follow the 80% Rule

Can someone else on your team do a task at least 80% as well as you can? If so, it's something that can be delegated. This is true for any leader in an organization who is looking at their to-do list and wondering how they'll get it all done in time. Often what gets in the way of effective delegation are our own internal worries:

Delegating can be one of the hardest things for any leader in an organization. It often feels like we're just "dumping" tasks onto another team member. The truth is that many team members want to be helpful and they want to learn, and we're getting in the way of their development by not trusting them with some of these tasks. 

Walk the Walk

Especially in the busy spring months, it's critical for owners to be aware that their actions set the tone for the whole organization. If you talk about how important it is to be on time every morning, but you're constantly late to meetings: what message are you sending? Prioritize actions that you know are important to team morale: be present during the morning roll-out when you can be, be on time and prepared for meetings, and show your team the professionalism and attitude that you want them to show your clients. 

Dedicate Time to Planning

You'll always be playing catch up if you don't dedicate time to planning ahead. Mark out time on your calendar for planning ahead, looking at what's coming next on your calendar, and checking on your progress towards goals. It's easy for these "housekeeping" tasks to get pushed aside for more "urgent" issues especially in the busy season, but they're critical to operating from a proactive place instead of a reactive one.

A lot of this advice can apply to any leader within an organization, no matter their role or position on the org chart. And for owners who are looking to develop their team to take on more tasks so they can focus more on where they can make the biggest impact, check out our upcoming events. We have virtual training designed for salespeople and our Grunder Landscaping Co. Field Trips are a great event for any role. Both events will equip teams to think more like owners and tackle their roles with renewed energy in 2026.

Have a great week, we'll talk to you again next Sunday!

Vince Torchia
Vice President & Director of Strategy
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.