Making Sure It’s Never About You

I reached out to a founder I know a few days ago, just to check in, to see if 2025 was off to a good start. I was doing this with a few people, and just wanted to get a couple emails out there before I went off to do other things.

I wasn’t thinking.

This founder lives in LA. Santa Monica, to be precise.

Close enough, it turns out, to have been evacuated twice because of the fires.

??

In my rush to reach out, I was making it about my agenda, about what I wanted.

And while he was gracious about it, I can only imagine how he felt.

Is There an Agenda Behind Your Caring?

I always want to get off to a good start in the New Year. It’s often my busiest time of year. Founders come to be because they went through something that they don't want to go through again, whether it's getting stuck, not trusting their people, being exhausted, or all three.

At times I notice an urgency to that. There is some FOMO, that if I don't capitalize on the first part of the year the rest of the year is doomed to fail.

And that focus on myself, on my agenda, can lead me to do some stupid selfish things, like sending an email to someone in LA with the subject line, “Is your 2025 off to a good start?”

I hope I’m learning from this. Because your agenda can show up in so many ways—

When you are talking with a potential client.

When you are talking with an employee.

When you are talking with a potential investor or board member.

Do you want a relationship, or just transactions?

The Presence of Authentic Relationship

One of the things that I constantly strive to get better at sounds deceptively simple—

To slow down enough to be with the person I am with.

Whether that’s my client or my spouse, can I be there for them, and their agenda?

Can I set aside all the other things that I am thinking about, just for now?

Can I repair when, inevitably, I DON’T do that?

Does This Resonate?

If so, reach out. I would love to hear how this shows up for you.

I’m creating my next Zoom call for founders and would love to hear what is on your mind. What YOU are struggling with and who you’d like to hear from on that topic.

And I’m creating a special two day event in Denver this coming October, on The Art and Science of Next Level Living. A small group of founders looking at big questions—

Is this (a financially successful business or exit) all there is?

Why am I ACTUALLY here?

What’s next for me?

Let me know if you would like to be considered for either or both of these events.