Startup CEO, 2nd Edition

Part FiveManaging Yourself So You Can Manage Others

Self‐management is a combination of self‐awareness and self‐regulation. Self‐awareness means understanding what you're doing and the impact it has on those around you. Getting that down leads directly to self‐regulation or the ability to control your actions and not have them control you. Why are those important skills to have as a CEO? Both of them open the door to your being not just an effective manager but an empathic one – the key to being an influential one. Sure, you could theoretically coerce people into doing what you want. Let's face it: that's not much fun and great people don't like to be coerced for a living.

Self‐management means realizing that you are in a fishbowl. You are always on display. You set the tone at your company. You are a role model in everything you do, from how you dress to how you talk on the phone, to the way you treat others, to when you show up to work, to how you act at work. You can't let people see you sweat too much – especially as you get bigger. You can't burn yourself out, even if you feel like you're working 24/7. You can't come out of your office after bad news and say, “We're dead!” You have to be very intentional about how you “show up” at work.

That's what this section of the book is all about.

In this section, I cover nuts‐and‐bolts topics such as creating your own operating system and how to work with an executive assistant, an executive coach, and a peer group (the support ...