Hey Reader!
What an incredible week. All of you awesome people made it possible for the podcast to hit #15 in the business category and #130 in all of Apple Podcasts. In week one! My friend made me say out loud that I have “A top 25 business show.” I’m taking it under consideration for future use.
Thank you so much for your support. My goal is impact, not fame or reach. Still, I know that reach is a key factor for impact because it influences the number of humans who get to hear the show + the quality of guests I can continue to book. The number one thing you can do to support the show is to leave a review on Apple Podcasts (or Spotify if that’s where you listen). If you’ve already done that, share your favorite episode so far with a friend by text message.
In other news, my friend and episode one guest, James Clear, showed incredible generosity by highlighting the show to his three million email subscribers and we have many new people here this week as a result.
So let me give a quick preview of my goal with this Saturday newsletter for all the new folks just joining us:
- Who it’s for: founders, creators, executives, and leaders who are building mission-driven companies
- What it’s for: to help you grow from founder to CEO and become the leader your team, customers, and community deserve (and that you’re meant to be)
My hope is to help you become a more focused, centered, empathetic, and effective leader of your team, company, or community.
By slight contrast, the podcast is meant for a wider audience of anyone who has a career and wants to use it to make a positive impact.
If you prefer to only get emails about the podcast, click this link and I’ll exclude you from the Saturday newsletter going forward. The link is automagic so don’t worry when it just takes you to the podcast site.
Ok, enough preamble. Thank you again for being here and for supporting the show.
Let’s get to it.
A quote to make you think from a book worth reading
“We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe. Their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe and not alone is part of what gives them the ability to inspire us. Those whom we consider great leaders all have an ability to draw us close and to command our loyalty.”
– Simon Sinek, Start with Why
An oldie but a goodie. The TEDx talk that sparked the book gives you 80% of the value in 2% of the time.
Three links to encourage deep thought and breakthrough growth
1 Breaking Points by Agnes Callard | Read time: 10min
“When I lose you, I also lose the me I became for you. And vice versa. Which is why cutting you off, once we have grown together, is an act of violence”
On the morality of unilaterally ending a relationship — whether romantic or platonic — that has mattered.
Now you might rightly ask, “what the hell does an essay on ending romantic relationships have to do with business?” And my answer is that business partnerships and co-founder relationships are every bit as complex as a life partner or marriage.
This essay brought to mind my own departure from ConvertKit and what alternatives to unilateral endings can look like. While I think we did this relatively well (ie having a thoughtful six month roll off of the team), I and we could’ve done more to establish what the relationship would look like after departure.
Questions to consider as you read: When have you made a unilateral decision to end a relationship — personal or business? What were the costs of that decision? Is there a more humane and collaborative way you could approach a similar situation in the future? How can that apply this to necessary departures from your team?
2 Good Cogs and Their Tools by Brie Wolfson | Read time: 8min
“Our industry is built on the belief that anyone, anywhere can make a difference if we care enough, dream enough, and work hard enough.
[…]
But the realities of our day are not lining up with that vision. I fear our organizations have sold us a dream of autonomy, agency, and real connection to our work and our colleagues—but have set up conditions and tools that only good cogs would thrive in.”
Many tools that are supposed to make work better merely make work busier… all while making the people who use them feel productive while creating very little of substance or value. Brie makes the case that we need more people who don’t want to be cogs and we need better tools to bring out their best work.
Question to consider as you read: What tools are you currently using that might be turning your best people into cogs? Is it worth it?
3 How to Be a Good Podcast Guest by Paul Bloom | Read time: 9min
“I’ve never been on a podcast with someone who didn’t want me to be there and didn’t want everyone to have a good time. It’s in everybody’s interest that it all goes well. […] So here are some tips for newbies.”
This is written by a psychologist and published author who has been on some very big shows over time. Most articles like this are by marketers and business people, which makes it stick out.
I’ve been thinking for months about how to create an incredible guest experience. I believe that having guests say things like “this is the most enjoyable and unique podcast I’ve ever been on” is a leading indicator to conversations people like you will deeply enjoy. The flip side is being a good guest.
Podcasts are an excellent marketing channel for building your company’s brand and exposing your product(s) to new customers. There is much you can do to be prepared for a great conversation as the guest so you can make the most of the appearances you earn.
Questions to consider as you read: What is the story you would tell if you were on the biggest podcast in your industry tomorrow? How would you describe your best customers? What problem or pain point does your product solve for those people? What are 5-6 key turning points in your life and career? What do you believe about business and leadership that makes you stand out from the crowd?
A Short Essay Based on My Work with Founders
I’m halfway through the second installment of my series on what I learned as COO of ConvertKit while we grew from $3M to $30M in annual revenue. But it’s not ready for you yet, so instead I want to share five things I’ve seen in common so far in my guests on Good Work.
I select guests because they have reached some level of externally recognizable success (which I take as a proxy for exercising a large portion of their potential). I also select for an altruistic orientation towards their work. They are in it to make a positive impact on society in addition to making good money. And finally, I select for people who are well known in their field or industry but deserve to be more widely known beyond that field.
What I’ve noticed through the first dozen interviews is that there are some common characteristics amongst my guests, despite being from vastly different fields and backgrounds. They:
1. Pick a problem to focus on based on interests rooted in early life
This is often only obvious in hindsight, but I suspect it could be proactively applied if you were searching for an area of focus for a new business or career move.
A kid who loved physics, Lego, and math turns into a robotics specialist reinventing manufacturing. A kid who struggled to understand himself and his emotions to the point of self-harm turns into an executive coach helping leaders experience more wholeness and belonging.
Mining your past to understand potential paths forward is a powerful tool.
2. Have a mission or focus on how they want to change things
Once they find a problem area to focus on, they pick a mission or core focus that represents the impact they want to make.
Reach as many people as possible with books that help them transform their lives. Reverse climate change through communicating science to a popular audience. Build a venture capital firm and publishing company to drive transformation across the most future-focused industries in the world.
They see a new version of the future and work to make it come true.
3. Rely on a community of support along the way
Everyone on the show has had a strong community backing them along their journey. Low points were sometimes triggered by a lack of community. The people — family, friends, peers, mentors — were critical to helping my guests find the best path forward.
4. Set VERY high standards for their work
These folks have an almost unreasonable expectation of themselves and their work. They know what great looks like and then they set out to work until they’ve met the standard.
It’s not perfectionism, it’s excellence. There’s a difference and they understand where the line is. They don’t let perfectionism prevent them from making progress.
They are the embodiment of closing the gap from the classic Ira Glass quote about taste vs ability.
5. Default to a sense of agency and control (even in the face of obstacles)
At my worst moments in life, I have sometimes fallen into the hole of believing life is happening to me. I don’t see a way out.
And at my best — including when I’m digging out of those holes — it’s often a result of reclaiming my agency in every situation.
The people I’ve interviewed take this to the extreme. They know that maintaining a sense of agency is critical for doing anything important in life. Which is not to say that setbacks and obstacles won’t happen, but rather that these folks still maintain their agency to respond to those setbacks as they happen.
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These are early learnings but powerful nonetheless. I’m excited to continue writing about these trends as I uncover them. If you haven’t yet, you can listen to the first three episodes of the show here. Episode four with Anne-Laure Le Cunff comes out on Tuesday.
Much love and respect,
If you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to a founder friend. You can also recommend me to a founder or creator as a coach.