Hey :)
I want to talk about a framework that's genuinely changed the way I think about time and work — both for myself and for the owners I coach.
I want to talk about a framework that's genuinely changed the way I think about time and work — both for myself and for the owners I coach.
Before I get into it, I want to be upfront: this isn't mine. It comes from Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach. He publishes a small book every quarter built around a framework he's working on, and there are dozens of these books by now. This one is called the ABC Model Breakthrough, and you can pick it up on Amazon or Kindle. I read it, used it on myself, started using it with clients, and — here I am giving him the credit he deserves.
What is the ABC Model Breakthrough?
The framework puts all the work you do into three buckets:
- A — Irritating. Work that's painful to do. You dread it, there's no growth in it, and honestly, you're probably not that great at it either. It drains you.
- B — Okay. Stuff that's transactional, you're competent enough at it, it needs doing — but it's not exactly where your best thinking lives.
- C — Fascinating. Work that stretches you. Work that lights you up. Work you'd do more of if only you had the time.
The goal of the framework is this: eliminate your A's, delegate your B's, and expand your C's.
Why this matters for owners especially
Most of the people I work with are business owners, and here's the truth that many of them have heard but haven't quite felt yet: your job as an owner is to protect the future of your business. Not to be the best at the thing your business does. Not to be the busiest person in the building. To think deeply, solve the problems nobody else can solve, and work on the future.
When you're stuck doing A and B work, you're not just wasting time. You're also compromising the quality of your C work — because by the time you finally get to the stuff that matters, you've got a fraction of the energy and focus it deserves. That's the real opportunity cost. It's not just time lost to the wrong things; it's the quality of the right things that suffers too.
And here's the thing about irritating work: if it's irritating you, it's fascinating somebody else. There is someone out there who genuinely loves doing the stuff you hate. The ABC Model Breakthrough pushes you to find those people — whether that's through hiring, AI, automation, or delegation — and let them own it.
The exercise
This is where it becomes practical. The whole point is to do something with it.
Grab the workbook and work through this:
- Write out all your A's. Everything that feels like a grind. Be honest.
- Write out all your B's. The stuff you're competent at, that you do, but that someone else could own.
- Write out what you want more of in your C's. What's the work that would make you feel like you're doing your best work?
Then pick the hottest one from each list:
- What's the A you want gone more than anything?
- What's the B that, if you delegated it, would buy back the most time?
- What's the C you want to protect and expand?
Make a plan. Not a vague intention — an actual plan. Who's going to take the A? Who's going to own the B? And what are you going to do with the time you've bought back? The answer to that last question needs to be something in your C box.
This isn't a one-time thing
You'll want to revisit this every quarter, maybe more often. Your A's and B's will shift as your business evolves and your team grows. Some things you can delegate fairly quickly; others take time to build a handover for. The point is to keep moving in the same direction: eliminate, delegate, expand.
Eliminate, delegate, expand. Over and over.
That's the journey to doing your best work — the work that only you can do, with the time and headspace to actually do it well.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.