When working on > working in
As founders transition to being CEOs, they must learn to work on the company instead of in the company. They shift focus to looking at the company as a machine, determining the inputs necessary for desired outputs.
Andrew Wilkinson writes in Lazy Leadership:
I now think of my companies as machines. I determine the result that I want, design a machine that will produce the result, then figure out what sort of people I need as part of it. If I’m part of the machine, I think about my strengths and weaknesses, and if necessary replace myself with someone better suited to the role.
Founders should also be working on themselves and on their relationships. Too many founders lose themselves in thoughts and emotions and suffer from unproductive conflict in their relationships. Too few understand that improving the systems that govern their inner world and their most important relationships yields greater returns than addressing tactical problems in the business.
How many founders actually understand their personal operating system? How many observe their minds, know their triggers and set aside time for reflection? Most are running non-stop towards product-market fit or the next revenue milestone.
Founder-CEOs don’t have managers, which begs the question: who looks out for their development? A founder’s job is not only incredibly lonely, but also incredibly stressful and busy. Information, fires, problems, people…where does a founder take that burden?
I vividly remember asking a founder-CEO how he was coping with stress. His co-founder had recently left the company, and this person had been asked to become CEO (he was previously CTO). He got very quiet and said, “I don’t really get stressed” with a sadness in his voice that I can still hear.
Numbness isn’t the absence of feelings; it’s actually being so overwhelmed by them that you shut down. And when this happens, you can’t do it selectively. You stop experiencing the full range of emotions—including happiness and admiration and the ability to enjoy life. That’s a terrible shame.
That’s why I believe it’s so important for founders to constantly examine and tweak their personal OS and interpersonal OS. Otherwise, things that worked in the past might actually cause harm when you least expect it.