No Regrets, Just Lessons Learned

A few take away lessons from '22

23 Dec

Happy Friday Friends,

2022 has been a rollercoaster for me. But, it seems like every year is as bonkers as the year before it. I’m not sure things will change much for the next few either. It seems that if you’re on a path of continual learning this is standard. 

If you’re going to try running a company. Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. One thing is for sure, I have learnt a ton. About business in general and about myself.

I’m going to follow the flock a little and do a typical end-of-year post. Here are the top business lessons I’ve learned this year.

  1. The best business leaders know how to teach themselves

There are always going to be times when you don’t know how to do something. Often you can delegate tasks to people more experienced than yourself. But, there will be times when you don’t have that option. Having the drive and ability to teach yourself something is priceless. 

  1. If you don't know how to sell, you're going to struggle

As a CEO/Founder/Leader you always need to be selling. Selling strategy to your leadership team. Selling culture and values to your wider team. Selling your product to customers and partners. Selling yourself and your company to investors.There are many ways to close deals or sway opinions. Test, review, iterate. Find what works best for you. But, you can’t avoid "the sell".

  1. No matter how good your product is, someone will hate it

You know the old saying; “You can never make everyone happy, all of the time.” This is couldn’t be more true than for tech startups with new products. If you’re selling to the right people, in the right markets at the right time you will reduce the number of people who don’t like what you do. But, there will always be a cohort who don’t like what you’re peddling. Sometimes it pays to listen but don’t take it to heart. Don’t let cloud your judgement.

  1. Spend time with 2-3 customers per month

The most successful startup founders swear by this. For me, as an ex Product Manager, it comes naturally. But, in stepping into management and C-suite it’s easy to forget about the importance of meeting your customers. It’s easy to be “too busy” and let your team do it. 

No! There is little as important as spending time with your customers. 3 customers per month. 1 hour per customer. Don’t fool yourself, you have 3 hours a month. It will be some of the highest quality work you’ll do. Effort vs reward is off the charts on this.

  1. Systems beat motivation & discipline every time

You can be the best CEO on the planet. Your team may jump through fire for you, with smiles on. But, motivation wanes, it’s simple. It isn’t sustainable. Personal issues can change for an employee and their motivation will waver. As a leader, your motivation will waver or you'll need to focus elsewhere.

Discipline is great. You can teach discipline. And, dog-headed determination and stubbornness will drive it home. But, it too can falter in the face of simple distractions. Put the right systems in place. Make them easy to understand and follow. And, you won’t have to worry about anything else. 

  1. Sounding clever won’t impress anyone except yourself. Be clear

Clear communication, written and verbal is key to being a great leader. And, it’s not easy. It takes practice and self-review. 

Simplify messaging. Give clear goals and outlines for teams to follow. Make it easy for them to understand and hard for them to get confused. Don’t worry about trying to impress your team or, your audience. Communicate clearly about the topic you’re discussing. Your goal is not to impress but to get people to understand & buy into your narrative. 

  1. Be on time. You're not a teenager

There is very little excuse to be late these days. You have Google maps. You have calendars. As a working adult, you generally know how long it takes to get somewhere and do something. 

There are even fewer excuses for being late to a video call. But, people seem to be later for video calls than they would be for in-person meetings. If the meeting starts at 3 pm. That doesn’t mean get to your laptop at 3 pm then start turning it on and getting your headphones and camera working. It means, at 3 pm someone will most likely be waiting to speak to you. Have respect for other peoples’ time or they will not respect yours. Time is our most precious resource, cherish it more than any other.

  1. Don't be arrogant, but have a mindset that you can do anything

You have to back yourself! You’re sitting where you are for a reason. Likely for many reasons. The shareholders or board gave you the helm for a reason. They saw something in you and think you can do this thing. If you’re a founder and this is your baby, well, you don’t need me to blow smoke up your ass - you’re a beast!

No one likes arrogance but, having confidence in your abilities is vital. The business and your team are relying on you, quiet the negative voice and get shit done.

  1. Nobody cares about you. They care about what you can do for them

Some hard truths dropping today. This one particularly drops hard for me. Because I do genuinely care about other people in my life. In business and especially startups, no one has time to care about you. But, if you can do something for them, suddenly they care a little more. It’s harsh but if we accept it and accept we’re all in the same boat then it’s ok. Focus on you and your company. 

The gist of it is, to focus on you and your mission but, be aware if you need something from someone they won’t do it before they care. And, they only start to care when you can add value for them.

Of course, I haven’t only learned 9 lessons this year. I could write a short thesis on the topic. I would also bore you at the same time so I’ve taken my top few that are relatable to most in general.

If you haven’t done an exercise like this, I recommend it. You’ve got about 10 days left and it should only take you about an hour. Try and get a solid list of 5. They don’t have to be inspirational and you don’t have to share them. The list is yours.

Two things will happen. First, you’ll be surprised by how much you’ve learnt when you think about it. The second is how little credit you give yourself for the things you learn in a year.

I’ll be back with one more post before I sign off for ‘22. The next post will be about a few personal lessons I’ve learnt this year. Keep an eye out for it.

Peace, love and muscles.

JarrenThe Beginner CEO

List Small of Books I Loved This Year

Thank you for reading The Weekly Feels. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Reply

or to participate.