Time for real disconnection: why a holiday makes your business stronger

I'm writing this blog before my leave, because during my break I want to let go of everything completely. As the father of twins and a business owner, my schedule before the holiday is packed, and I'm already looking ahead to what needs to happen on 1 September. But professionally, I have no "what if" scenarios running through my head. No fear that something will go wrong while I'm out of reach for a while. I know for certain that I can be away without everything grinding to a halt.

Over the years I've come to realise that the mindset so familiar to many SME owners, always reachable and always accountable, actually works against you. After 20 years in IT, the last few of them as a partner at Make IT So, I've learned that real disconnection isn't only good for you. It is essential for your business.

The paradox of the indispensable business owner

You know the story. You're the one who knows everything, has all the contacts and makes all the decisions. You're always there, even on holiday, with your phone within reach "for emergencies". It gives you a false sense of control. Meanwhile you're making both yourself and your business vulnerable.

A few years ago I learned this the hard way, first-hand. A tumour forced me to really slow down. What I learned then fundamentally changed my view of holidays and disconnecting. Everything does indeed come right with time and patience, plus a fair share of luck in my case, but only if you give your systems and people the room to prove it.

Why real disconnection makes your business stronger

I'm writing what follows for SME owners, but just as much for all managers who feel indispensable.

1. It reveals weak spots before they become critical

When you're completely offline for a week, you quickly find out where your business still depends too much on you personally. That isn't a weakness. It's valuable data. Better to discover this during a planned holiday than during an unexpected crisis.

At Make IT So we regularly see this with clients. An SME owner goes on holiday with peace of mind for the first time in years and, on returning, discovers which processes could be automated better. Not as a defeat, but as a shortlist for the next step towards a more professional organisation.

2. It gives your team the chance to grow

Your employees are probably far more capable than you think. As long as you're there to answer every question and make every decision, they never get the chance to prove it. A week in which you're not there is a week in which they can excel.

3. It creates mental space for strategy

Strategic insights rarely come in the middle of the daily rush. They need room. Time to reflect. Distance from the operational details. My best ideas for programme managementGuiding several related projects towards one shared goal. often came to me in moments of rest and relaxation, not behind my laptop.

How do you organise real disconnection?

The mayonnaise only comes together if all the ingredients are right. Successful disconnection needs three elements: documenting before you leave, trusting while you're away, and learning when you get back.

Before you leave: document and delegate

Not everything in your head is written down somewhere. Take the time to capture the core processes. In concrete terms:

• Decision matrix. Who can decide what, up to which amount or level of impact, without you? Put that on a single A4 sheet. A team that knows how much leeway it has won't call you.
• Escalation procedure. What counts as a real emergency, and who deals with it? A customer who is behind on payments is not an emergency. A production line that has stopped is. Make that distinction explicit.
• Handover document per role. What information, which logins and which contacts does someone need to take over your part of the work for two weeks? Not everything, only the critical path.
• Runbook for recurring decisions. A customer asks for a discount outside the standard terms? A supplier pushes through a new price? Describe in advance how your team handles that without you.

While you're away: trust your systems

This is the hardest part. Your phone stays off for work matters. You don't check your email. You don't "just take a quick look" at that one customer. If your systems and people are good, and they're better than you think, they can manage a week without you. The same goes for LinkedIn and other professional channels where you're normally visible.

After you return: learn from what happened

Which problems were solved without you? Which processes ran better than expected? Where is there room for improvement? And which things came to a standstill while you were away, and do your employees perhaps consider them less important than you thought? Those insights are gold for your company's next step towards a more professional organisation.

The digital tools that help

With many clients we see that simple digital tools make the difference between anxiety and peace of mind. Three patterns keep coming back:

1. One dashboardA single screen with your key figures at a glance. with the status. Ongoing projects, open quotes, critical customer questions. One place where your team can see the current state of affairs, even when you're offline. No digging through old emails required.
2. Clear communication protocols. Slack or Teams with agreements on which channel to use for what and who pings whom in which scenario. No chaos of everyone calling everyone.
3. Automated reports. Weekly turnover, outstanding invoices, critical KPIs. They keep running even when you're not there. When you get back, you can read in 15 minutes what you've missed.

It isn't about complex systems. It's about the right information in the right place for the right people.

An investment in your company's resilience

Real disconnection is more than a week's holiday. It's an investment in your company's resilience. Every time you can stay away with peace of mind, you're building an organisation that is less vulnerable to the inevitable moments when you can't be there.

And note that this doesn't only apply to holidays. It also applies to the time you fall ill, when there's a family matter to deal with, or when you simply want to stay away from work for a whole weekend.

Catching my breath

By the time you read this, I'll be away with my children. My phone stays on, but it won't be used for work matters. Not even for a quick look at my email. Not because I'm irresponsible, but precisely because I want to be responsible towards my team, my clients and my twins.

Because in the end, running a business is about building something bigger than yourself. And sometimes you need to step away for a while to see how well it's coming along.

Want to know where your company stands today in terms of processes, delegation and systems that run without you? The quickscan gives you an honest baselineRecording the starting situation so you can measure progress. in fifteen minutes, plus a shortlist of what to work on first before your next holiday comes round.