by Joseph Mas
Understanding a System Requires Being Inside It
As an owner your job is to work on the business, not in the business. But that only works if you fully understand how everything inside the business actually operates.
To truly understand a system, you have to step away from the levers at the top and re-enter the work itself. Real insight comes from operating within the process, where every constraint and point of friction is visible.
Everything I am describing here comes from firsthand experience running and operating real companies, not from theory or abstract management models.
Working on the Business Versus Understanding the Business
Operating Across Every Function
As a long term owner, founder and responsible for multiple companies throughout my career, I would step directly into every major function of the company. That included operations, finance, legal, sales, marketing, seo team, content team and so on. I worked inside each group for as long as it took to get a full scope picture doing the actual work alongside the team. That gave me a complete view of how the system operated from beginning to end, the endpoints, and where friction accumulated and how decisions in one area created pressure everywhere else.
Why Systems Must Be Revisited
Even if you designed and built a division yourself you still need to revisit it. That’s because:
Systems drift. People change. Processes evolve.
A small adjustment four steps upstream can silently multiply in either direction, creating major friction or releasing pressure across the system. You only see that clearly when you stay close enough to understand how everything connects.
Designing After Full Immersion
After getting immersed long enough to form a clear picture I stepped out and let my observations resonate. Only then did I design frameworks that reduced unnecessary work, lowered stress on teams, and increased total output across the company, and typically produced better results for clients.
Personal Operating Anecdotes
No matter what business you run, I firmly believe owners should personally maintain at least one real client. In my last company I always did. That client became a living model and use case. It kept me current, exposed friction early, and forced me to experience the business the same way employees (and customers) do.
Knowing What Is Under Your Own Roof
It wouldn’t be a surprise to find myself or another partner cleaning the kitchen or doing dirty work. We did that because as seasoned leaders we were willing to do everything inside the company, and because we wanted to know what was happening under our own roof.
If you are an owner, clean your own kitchen at least once. You may be surprised by what you find.