As a mission-driven CEO, your work isn’t just about profits or performance—it’s about purpose. The choices you make, the culture you foster, and the vision you create all have a profound ripple effect. At the heart of this impact lies two often-overlooked, yet essential elements: love and legacy.
I loved sailing at summer camps growing up. It was similar to flying and taught me many valuable life lessons. In sailing, being "in irons" refers to when a boat is pointed directly into the wind, causing it to lose momentum and become temporarily unsteerable. For mission-driven CEOs, this scenario serves as a powerful metaphor for periods in business where we feel stuck or stalled, especially in uncertain times. Just as a sailor must adjust their sails and angle to catch the wind again, leaders must continually re-evaluate strategies to align their leadership team to boldly move forward. Staying "in irons" is not just inefficient; it’s potentially hazardous, as it leaves us vulnerable to shifting conditions without the ability to steer effectively.
We are at the end of our second quarter, 50% through 2023. What a year it's been!
This is designed to share some critical insights and questions to help you grow as a leader and increase your impact as we move into the second half of the year.
We are excited to share our updated BHAG - We made our BHAG measurable, and it is a result of a significant takeaway from our global Scaling Up coaching work - people flourish when they have a good job. Everything begins with a good job, and the CEOs we partner with share our passion for creating jobs that allow their team to flourish.
In an era of heightened stress, unprecedented mental health crises, and a pandemic, we need to rethink how we spend our time to fight against these challenges. Spending time outside can be critical to reducing our stress, overcoming mental challenges, and boosting our immune system. While this time spent outside is not an end-all solution, it can give us a fighting chance against these challenges.
The only two things in our life are our time and our energy. Everything else we can make more of. And so, during this time of great uncertainty and unprecedented opportunity, how we take care of ourselves, both physically and mentally, are obviously paramount. This self-care really centers in many ways around our time and our energy, which are two of our greatest and yet most limited resources.
