>[!abstract] >"Working on" versus "working in" a business is a distinction popularized by Michael Gerber in _The E-Myth Revisited_. **Working in** a business means handling day-to-day operational tasks—serving customers, managing transactions, or putting out fires—where the owner or manager functions as an employee. **Working on** a business, by contrast, means focusing on strategy, systems, and long-term improvements: designing processes, scaling operations, innovating offerings, and building structures that make the enterprise sustainable without constant direct involvement. The concept underscores the importance of stepping back from execution to create leverage, resilience, and growth capacity. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): — >- **West** (similar): — >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —