This is a bit of a relaunch, or realignment of this newsletter. I originally used Substck to to try to write more freeform, any topic articles about whatever came to mind. It was a sandbox for me. But now I’ve moved those to other channels.
This one is dedicated to the Startup CEO, as that is my focus for 2020. I’m doing a lot of coaching for startup CEOs, writing a series of 3 to 4 books right now about becoming, being and succeeding as a Startup CEO, and I’m also building a private network of people interested in the topic.
My focus is on helping people to be better at the job of CEO, or better at getting the job of CEO in a real company. This is all based on my experiences as a 5 time startup CEO and working for a dozen more CEOs.
Learning how to run a startup while running a startup is extremely hard, but that’s what most people do when they become the CEO of a smaller company. You may succeed, as many have, but you will be operating at a level so far below your potential that you’ll always look back and wonder what “woulda-coulda” happened if you’d instead been a fully prepared, highly tuned machine.
That’s what this newsletter is about: how to do it right and avoid the most common beginner mistakes.
In larger companies, the process for recruiting, hiring and promoting CEOs is very well thought out (yet they still get it wrong often). Many qualification metrics are used to make sure the current CEO is performing well and any potential new CEO will be completely ready to take over. There are usually backup plans for any hiccups or unforeseen problems. Even with all this companies often wind up with a “CEO problem”.
So these articles will focus on creating and improving the best startup CEOs. Thanks for reading.