Frequency of ass-kickings

It is hard to explain what it means to be CEO of a high-growth company to people who have never done it. It has been said that CEO is the worst job possible because you end up with all the problems and pain that others can’t solve.?

I don’t think that is entirely true; there is also much joy in building and getting it right, but you indeed have to make many choices fast with incomplete data; if you get it right, you get to live another day with no pat on the back, and if you get it wrong, well then it is, of course, your fault. The buck stops with you.

The same is true for any startup. The ass-kickings are relentless, as are the challenges with product, people, customers, investors, expectations, and too little time and resources to deal with it. Here are a few lessons I’ve extracted from my last 20 years of building software, raising money, and solving problems daily.

Relish the ass-kickings: they are a signal.?

With Beyond Work, we wanted to build something different and real in an industry full of hype, and the only way to do that is to seek out real customers early.?

And then have them proceed to kick your ass at high frequency.

The good news is: that means they are invested and want to see improvement in something they believe in. The alternative is much more scary. Pay close attention to the ass-kickings and run towards them whenever possible.?

We are lucky to have a fantastic cohort of early customers who love what we are building so much that they take their time to kick our ass every day. And we actively interview them about it to learn as much as possible.

Accept some problems you cannot solve.

Prioritize problems by risk, proximity, and size, but ignore the ones you can’t do anything about anyway. If a meteor were to hit Earth tomorrow, there is very little we can do, and putting it into your high-priority list doesn’t matter. It’s just noise.?

Grit is more important than genius, but everything comes with a price.

It’s well-proven that grit is one of the most important entrepreneurial traits. The winners are those who survive, not those who make the most noise.?

Grit comes with a price, though. We glorify it all too often, but it’s not a nice feeling to know that you most likely should quit now because if not, the cost will be significant to you and your family.

I have had battles I regret winning because, in the end, the gains were for others, and the cost was for me, even when I could have just walked away. At Beyond Work, I use my grit is for the team, my family and loved ones, our work and the people who believe in our vision. I firmly believe that everything else will follow.?

Trust your team and pick the right investors.?

Shit will hit the fan, sometimes, when you least expect it. You can only solve some things yourself. Trust your team, and let them carry the load with you. While it can be lonely to be CEO, it is even more lonely if you don’t share that trust. The same goes for investors. This is also a gift, since these are the times you learn who your true friends and family are, the ones who know you and what you stand for.

Forgive yourself. You are only human.

You are going to screw up a lot. Making decisions fast, with incomplete data, and your back to an abyss is a recipe for that. History is written by the winners and the survivors. Learn from your mistakes, but don’t linger on punishment that’s not necessary. You don’t have time. Move on, iterate, and grow.?

These are hard lessons to learn, but they have given me the foundation for pulling through even the worst of turbulence. Beyond Work will be a company that wins in part because of these lessons.?

We have grit, heart, and vision and an unbeatable team, and the high frequency of passion and ass-kicking from our customers tells us we are on the right track to building something truly game-changing.

That is a huge reason I am excited for 2024. And, with the Beyond Work team, we will show the world what’s next.