What do you wish you had known 10 years ago?
Literally that it's going to take 10 years to build a truly successful business! When we started we thought we were ‘in it’ for 2-3 years and then would be able to retire by the pool. Overnight success is a myth.
What personal habit or behavior helped you accelerate your personal growth?
Reflecting on my mistakes or missteps - talking about them, reading and learning new strategies. If you are prepared to accept you are fallible, and model change, you will have a more resilient team when things get tough.
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
To turn a successful product into a successful business and company. Everything flowed from customers using and loving our product. We want to achieve financial freedom by building our own business.
What should leaders understand about their own role and responsibility?
Leadership is about showing the way for others to thrive - taking responsibility and accountability when things are going wrong, giving the team the credit when everything goes well.
If you bring ‘ego’ into leadership and make it about you, then you are building a cult, not a business.
What's a skill that we should pay more attention to in the workplace?
Decision making. It’s often mistaken for ‘opinions’ or ‘feedback’ or ‘collaboration’ but try to encourage your team to make good decisions (i.e. not just a mishmash of compromises).
What do you do to maintain balance in your life?
I am pretty ruthless about notifications on all my devices turned off - which means I am responding in ‘real time’ when I’m looking or checking, but I wont be interrupted if I focussed on something else. I think you have to be a good compartmentalizer generally - good boundaries!
What books do you recommend the most?
"Radical Candor", "Turn the Ship Around," and "Traction."
What’s an important belief / a guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
Define your values (‘culture deck’) and reinforce it often - create rituals and statements that sum up your values and remind everyone why they are important. If people understand and trust how / why you run your business they are going to stay motivated.
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Here’s More, From Other Founders Around the World
What's a question you like asking — yourself or others?
I like asking, "What can I learn from this experience?" This question helps me reflect on challenges and successes, fostering continuous improvement and a mindset of growth and learning.
What’s an important guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
“Lead by ideas, not by hierarchy.” The “position” of a person has nothing to do with the ability to contribute great ideas to improve the company. You should always strive for a company culture where everybody can talk to everybody.
What shift in perspective has allowed you to see things differently?
Understanding that you cannot control the decisions other people make, you can only influence and inform them. Not every deal or decision will go your way and this mindset helps avoid self-loathing, anger, and depression.
What was a pivotal moment where your business made a big leap forward?
Understanding the 80/20 principle or even 64/4 and that it's a law of nature applicable everywhere. It's one of the biggest levers for doing more with less or in less time. (E.g. 20% of the streets in the world handle 80% of the traffic.)