Do Your Company a Favor-Go Away

Business owners are often hard pressed to take vacations. But getting away from the business helps you to work on it rather than in it.

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While students are still reminiscing about spring break vacations, many business leaders are scratching their heads wondering where March went. With the first quarter of 2013 about to close, the corporate world is focused on the next three.

When you're growing a business, it's very easy not to allow yourself the luxury of a little time off. I've been there. It took me years of training, conditioning, and internal struggle to convince myself that it was good, and even necessary, to take a vacation. Spending time away from the business can allow you to really see it and work on it rather than lose focus working in it.

It's no different than any other aspect of your life--your relationships, hobbies, or other extracurricular pursuits. If you allow yourself to become too focused, you can miss the bigger picture.

I like to sculpt and find that without a break, I start to go cross-eyed and the work suffers. When I walk away for a few minutes or hours to think about the next technique, it's in better focus.

Admittedly, I never truly disconnect on vacation. Working on business might not sound like much of a vacation, but it's easy to integrate improvement with relaxation. I try to read four or five business books and there's usually plenty of plane- and beach-time to do this. I get great ideas during these times of serenity and come back to the office feeling rejuvenated.

It's when I'm away that I have great breakthroughs--when subconscious meets conscious. We have these captive moments in our everyday lives--lying in bed, in the shower, during our commute--where we are stuck with our thoughts. A vacation allows you to turn your schedule on its head and spend more time with your thoughts than with the noise of calls, e-mails, meetings, etc. Your creative side has a time to come out and stretch its legs.

OtterBox founder and CEO Curt Richardson created the first prototype of a waterproof case in his garage in the early '90s. OtterBox evolved into a leader in protective cases for mobile technology. @OtterBox