The importance of having fun

It's lonely at the top. Most CEOs who have done this for a while end up being lonely. Many end up divorced. At some point you have to ask yourself if it's worth it. So why is this?

I think there are two basic reasons. The first one is that in making decisions that nobody else ultimately shares the responsibility for, you will eventually disagree with those around you. If you are doing your job well, you will likely not always run things by consensus. And perhaps more importantly, because the weight of the decisions is always on you rather than someone else. That weight piles up over time.

I came to understand this many years ago, and in fact wrote a list of why people use our advisory services. It included 3 items; expertise, connections, and...

Someone to talk to

In picking advisors, the conversations you have with the head of your advisory board are probably the most important thing to understand.

• The things you don't know enough about, you end up knowing about after you learn them, and as the company grows, if it grows, you will have internal experts that know more than you, and in context, more than any advisor you are likely to find.
• The connections your advisors have are important, but how many people do they really know that you don't know, and after you meet them, you know them too. They are important and worthwhile, but almost never irreplaceable.
• The friendship you form with your advisor, even if it is a business friendship, is the one thing that can really last. The fact that you can tell them anything without fear of it coming back to you or being used against you, except in a friendly way, is something more valuable than any other thing you have to hold on to.

The fun?

For a while, it is often really fun to be the CEO. But the fun fades in every case I have known. Sure, if you end up being a billionaire, until you end up in jail or detox, you can think you have the world by the tail. But almost everyone who starts the journey swinging for the bleachers ends up on the junk pile of history. There are far more employees than CEOs in substantial companies. In fact, 70% of US small businesses are owned and operated by individuals, which is to say, a lifestyle business with no employees (according to the US Chamber of Commerce). Their lifestyle is running their business. And that's 70% of the 99.9% of the about 32.5 million US businesses that are small businesses. The 9.75 million businesses with more than one person involved, are responsible for the remaining 120 million or so workers. Most startups I encounter have only a few employees, and statistics show that most of them don't ever return the investment.

I count myself lucky that I have run Management Analytics in one form or another since 1977, and Angel to Exit is now about 7 years old and doing reasonably well. And almost every month in the lean years I am wiggling out of one thing or another that would otherwise crush me.

On the other hand, there are the good years. I had a really good year that allowed me to pay off all the debt and have a lot of time to rethink things. And I have had many good years while bringing up our children. I have had a lot of fun traveling around the world and meeting folks. I have seen much of the world with my wife, who now tells me that going to Hawaii with me on a business trip is not really something she wants to do. I guess once you've been there and done that a few times, almost anything is no longer as novel or as fun.

I am not done yet, but I have been working professionally since 1973, which makes it 50 years. I am getting to the point where it's more about the fun than the business, and the people I know and have known are more important to me than the money... which is not to say I am ready to stop making money.

When I last visited China, my hosts asked me what I would like to do and see while there. I explained that what I would really enjoy would be to see how the rail and power and water systems worked. It may seem crazy to many of you, but I grew up as an engineer and scientist and really enjoy operational technology and infrastructure more than parties and wine and song. To me, that's fun. And so is business, with good friends and fellow travelers.

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It's just a quick introduction to other folks like us. People you meet who you might end up working with for the rest of your life. And ideas that may lead you to the next fun thing.

In summary

Different strokes for different folks. I like what I do and would be happy to find out what you like to do. As long as we can keep it fun.