The One Massive Mistake I Made As A Small Business CEO And How You Can Avoid It

I became trapped inside my company.

I wanted to execute, and I felt like nobody could do it as well as me. But, damn, was I wrong. Not letting go and being the biggest individual contributor in the company was a sin. My decision slowed the company trajectory for years.

Over time, and thanks to my business mentor, I learned that as the company progresses, my role must progress:

I had to shift from working on the business, not in it. These are the three primary roles of a CEO.

1/ Execute the playbook

As a CEO, your job is to carefully and selectively prioritize the few key strategies and initiatives that optimize the business’s financial performance while simultaneously leveraging the available resources.

Without a North Star guiding the company, teams will do what they feel is important, and everyone will have conflicting objectives — no bueno.

2/ Build the team

Managing relationships is one of the highest leverage activities a CEO can do.

Without people, the company is nothing. You have one job; look at where you’re…