Tips for the CEO - 12 months later

It’s been over a year now since Marek Talarczyk became Netguru’s new CEO. Back then, I wrote down a few tips for him based on 10+ years’ worth of leadership experience. Today, I decided to share them with you, as I believe they could help every new CEO and every leader. Let me know if there’s anything missing.

The following is a 1:1 copy of the letter I wrote to Marek back in 2019.

Marek Talarczyk asked me the other day for some tips for his new journey as a Netguru’s new CEO. I thought I'd share them with him through this blogpost. Hopefully, more people will find it useful. You can also treat it as “The Schmidt’s Principles” I guess ??

This is a big deal ??

You should be proud of yourself. You accomplished something truly amazing. You are now leading a 600+ strong organization that is on track to grow really fast over the next few years. It’s not a small feat. But with great power comes great responsibility – the lives of 1000+++ people (including clients, families, and extended families) depend on you in many ways.

BUT: You are not so special ??

At the same time, I think it’s important to remember that our successes in life are a combination of hard work and skills but also luck and privilege. A big part of the reason we are all where we are today is because we were born at the right time and in the right place, and were given some amazing opportunities on top of that. There are always people who are smarter and more talented, and would do a much better job here if given the chance. I think it’s important to never forget that and keep doing the best job we can.

Words Create Worlds ??

What you say matters. Now even more than ever. Sure, you have to walk the walk but most things start with us saying something. I’m expecting (maybe overly optimistically) that hundreds if not thousands of people will read this in the coming years. The same will happen with whatever you say or write. Make it count and respect your audience’s time by making sure what you say matters.

BUT: Don’t overthink everything you say ??

The trouble with the above is that it can lead to self-censorship and avoiding to speak unless you think you have something “profound” to say. It’s important to speak your mind and heart, and to not be afraid to use emotions and intuitions to guide what you say. To communicate effectively, you need repetition because people need to hear the passion in what you say. It’s hard to engineer passion – you need to leverage intuition and emotions to show genuine passion for what you think is important.

Start with Why ?

Start with “Who we are”, “What we believe in”, and “Why we are doing this”. Maybe make a habit of starting every meeting with it. It takes 3 minutes and can make the other 27 much more engaging and productive.

BUT: Don’t be afraid to be emotional and act based on impulse. ?????♂?

Again, emotions and intuitions are there to help us move faster. Sometimes, we can’t articulate the “why” immediately but we “strongly believe” in certain decisions. Allow yourself to follow your gut but make sure you review the result afterwards. Figure out your biases and preconceptions, and keep them in check (this one is hard!).

Karma exists (not in a spiritual sense) ?????♀?

It makes sense to be kind to people and never burn bridges. No one wins a war. One side just loses less. I believe there is always a peaceful solution. I’m a huge fan of the NVC concept (Non-Violent Communication). Even when not in a conflict, always choose to be kind, respond to people who reach out, and help wherever you can.

BUT: You can’t please everyone ?????♀?

The more successful you get, the bigger the number of people who will complain about something. Learn to deal with it. Recognize people who don’t respect your time, “emotional vampires”, trolls, and other distractions, and find a way to distance yourself from them (technology helps).

BONUS: NEVER EVER GIVE UP ??

If I were to choose only one thing I learned over those 11 years, it would be that everything is possible. Some things just take a lot of time and persistence. But then those are the things you appreciate the most!

Good luck Marek! ??