How can you tell if someone’s never been CEO? \u00a0They say something like, “I really want to be CEO” \u00a0I never seem to see former CEOs saying that.<\/p>\n
A few days ago, Ben Horowitz wrote one of the best blog posts I’ve ever read<\/a>, all about CEO psychology:<\/p>\n By far the most difficult skill for me to learn as CEO was the ability to manage my own psychology. \u00a0… \u00a0Over the years, I\u2019ve spoken to hundreds of CEOs all with the same experience. Nonetheless, very few people talk about it, and I have never read anything on the topic. It\u2019s like the fight club of management: The first rule of the CEO psychological meltdown is don\u2019t talk about the psychological meltdown.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This blog post is a must-read for all CEOs and boards; it’s very good stuff.<\/p>\n Being CEO was the toughest job I’ve ever had, no question. \u00a0It was an intense and extreme range of emotions: \u00a0I never laughed so hard, or cried so hard. \u00a0I went between periods of pure\u00a0optimism, to periods of deep anxiety with many, many sleepless nights (in both cases). \u00a0I formed some new, lifelong friendships, all while feeling I let down all of my friends when things didn’t go as planned. \u00a0CEOs attract more blame than credit; it is the most demanding job in the world.<\/p>\n I’m glad so Ben wrote this, because the “leader” personality type tends to avoid signs of personal weakness. \u00a0CEOs talk about “managing to the metrics” or “rallying the troops”, but you never hear “I’m depressed”, “I’m tired”, “I need help”, or “the team is pulling me in three different directions and I can’t choose”.<\/p>\n There’s a reason my friend calls the job “CPO” — Chief Psychological Officer. \u00a0That “other stuff” is usually the Real Stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How can you tell if someone’s never been CEO? \u00a0They say something like, “I really want to be CEO” \u00a0I never seem to see former CEOs saying that. A few days ago, Ben Horowitz wrote one of the best blog … Continue reading