Being the Boss Isn’t About Being The Boss

I had to share this. It’s a quote from the CEO of Phil Libin. There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to run a company, and in a few sentences he shatters the most widespread:

People have this vision of being the CEO of a company they started and being on top of the pyramid. Some people are motivated by that, but that’s not at all what it’s like.

What it’s really like: everyone else is your boss – all of your employees, customers, partners, users, media are your boss. I’ve never had more bosses and needed to account for more people today.

The life of most CEOs is reporting to everyone else, at least that’s what it feels like to me and most CEOs I know. If you want to exercise power and authority over people, join the military or go into politics. Don’t be an entrepreneur.

Being a CEO means that you are solely accountable for everything your company does and every obligation it holds to its employees and customers.

Part of the reason I like to stay involved with my clients is because this is one issue we can relate to that few others can. Everything good or bad that happens is a reflection of yourself, so we can’t stop thinking about how to make sure every client is happy.

This hits on another point: my dad always tells me never to start a company with the goal of selling it (credit armon). It will inevitably fail. The people who start businesses for the sole purpose of profit-making are not likely to succeed. When I see my company expand and increase the quality and sophistication of our creative and strategic output, the pride I feel is worth more than the money it brings in.

If you want to be a business owner, you have to love the business. That’s why I do what I do.