Small companies, especially micro ones, are characterized by having owners who tend to do everything themselves. Hands on, details-oriented, action-oriented — these are the marks of a good business CEO.

But as the company grows, things have to change by necessity. The most obvious change is that as demand for the company’s product increases, the need for a larger organization becomes more apparent.

Less apparent for many CEOs, however, is that as an organization becomes larger, it becomes less practical for a CEO to be hands on, details-oriented, and action-oriented.

Result: CEOs who still try to treat the business as if it was their own little serfdom when in fact the world has already become far too complex for just one person to control.

What CEOs of firms in such growth zones should realize is that while operations have to be delegated, there is one function that cannot be delegated. That’s the planning function. And that’s where the CEO should focus, rather than being stuck in the details-centric stage.

The larger the organization, the more there is a need for a person who will do nothing but plan because everyone else will be too bogged down with the details to find time to plan, while at the same time the challenges and the environment of a large company becomes more and more complex. Which is why it makes so much sense for the CEO to delegate all the work and just focus on the planning process.

If you are the CEO of a fast-growing business, make sure that you are capable of farming out your most pressing duties. Because the more time you spend planning, the better your firm has a chance of living up to future growth challenges.