Inaugural 1:1 with A and Z on @joinClubhouse

Got a chance to listen in to the Andy Grove inspired inaugural 1:1 with A and Z on @joinclubhouse this evening with @pmarca and @bhorowitz. Some good advice and perspectives for business leaders. Favorite outtakes:

1.   On the role of the War Time and Peace Team CEO: The War Time CEO is often in the details, micromanages and speaks out publicly on what is not working. But it’s not about being an a$$ it’s about driving forward a business outcome or driving a cultural or behavioral change that the business needs in order to succeed. Example, the story of Andy Grove and his disdain for people being late to meetings, making those people feel bad for being late wasn’t about embarrassing anyone, it was about making people understand that precision and reliability were fundamentals of the culture that should be applied universally.

2.   On working from home: The “nerdy CEO” has gained ground in the new remote world (introverts haven) and those who over communicate, have an aggressive use of tech and “lean in” to the new way of working are winning. Those who are waiting for the past to reemerge stand to lose.

3.   On management styles: A key question as a senior leader / a CEO is how to ensure the “bad news” gets to you. You need to normalize the culture of dealing with bad news / issues so that issues don’t spiral. At a “system” level not every problem has to come with a solution, at an individual level its likely a good idea to bring a side of solution with your main course problem.

4.   On feeling lonely and isolated as a founder: It’s real, it’s tough, it’s personal, there will be sacrifice, but it is what it is and most likely your peers are in the same boat, they just won’t likely admit it. You need to find ways to create “trust bubbles” and start to build your network (and make sure on that note you leverage the power of pay it forward). Shout out to https://www.ypo.org/

5. On hiring talent: Don’t judge based on shallow variables. You may think that the talent coming out of the giant high growth tech monopolies are what you want, but don’t underestimate the talent that comes from the place of “extreme struggle” those who have failed, or those who had the ideas before their time. Shout out https://www.generalmagicthemovie.com. Final quote the definition of a great marketer is the marketer who can sell a “dog” (not of the K9 variety).