Mike’s Note #5 — Do you have a CEO coach?
Hey there,
I’ve been grappling with the idea of getting a CEO coach for a while. In particular, I’m always looking for ways to level up my leadership skills. Sidenote: I recently read Conscious Leadership based on a referral from one of our customers and loved it!
I’m curious, do you have a CEO coach (or any type of coach)? What types of issues do you work through? If you have 2-3 minutes, I’d love for you to respond to this survey — I can’t promise your typical 10-20 seconds 😉
Transparently, we’re thinking through ways how we can offer coaching services to our customers. It appears that wellness and vulnerability are resonating based on responses to last week’s note.
Last Weeks Note – All the Stuff I Got Wrong in 2019
Things we got right in the last 12 months:
- “Stay positive on unit economics from day one and charge your early customers the most as this helps in staying afloat while you realize product market fit”
- “The one thing that I did right was keep pushing myself and not giving up. Sounds crazy but it’s a scary journey starting a company in a crazy fragmented space where barriers to entry are super low. It’s been a rough ride so far but I’ve kept holding on to the voice of our customers who tell us what we are doing is different and special”
- “Trusted my gut, I sometimes let other people’s opinions get in the way of my gut instincts. I’ve learned in the past few years that often my gut instincts are right. Letting other people dictate my opinions especially around things I have a lot of subject matter expertise has cost me in the past.”
Things we wish we did different in the last 12 months:
- “Don’t go into business with your friends or family. When startups and relationships meet one of two things can happen, relationships become stronger and more fruitful or they deteriorate and die. To the point of no return. Unfortunately, with friends and family the latter tends to be more common. In my opinion it’s not worth the risk.”
- “I think a lesson that I’d like to share with other founders is that they should not go on this journey alone. It’s definitely an emotional and mental roller-coaster and you need a community to keep you sane, focused, reassured, and grounded.”
Have a great weekend all!
-Mike
p.s. We would love your CEO coaching feedback if you haven’t filled it out yet!