An essential question to all the CEOs out there, before I start digging into the 10 Essentials: why do you do this job?
I started my business because I enjoyed problem solving. I liked addressing a new challenge. I loved winning a bid and starting a new project. As an employee, there were limitations in things that I was allowed to do. I wanted sky to be my limit; therefore, I took off.
Ten years later, I kept on flying. But I had no idea where to. I have been enjoying the trip. But I had no idea about the destination. My road was long, full of adventure, full of discovery. But where was my Ithaka?
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
After almost a decade of being an entrepreneur, I only asked myself this question last Christmas. I was getting ready to get a new business partner on board, exploring ways in which he could be quickly and fully aligned with the two existing shareholders. I had already decided to set up a weekly Strategy Council meeting with them — I will talk about this more, as its one of the 10 Essential Tools that every CEO should master.
But before we kicked off, I felt that we needed something to get us all on the same page.
So I took the decision to test if Scaling Up’s One-Page Personal Plan (OPPP) can do the job.
Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash
Working on the OPPP has been a revelation. I had to think about at least 10 years later:
- How old am I going to be? How will my life look like?
- Which are my important relationships? My major achievements? My daily habits? My once-in-a-lifetime experiences?
- How about my wealth? How much money am I going to really need in order to provide for myself and my beloved ones?
The OPPP helped me develop both a professional and a personal plan, which still serves as the compass that keeps me going to the right direction every time that the going gets tough.
It also worked like magic for me and my business partners. It gave us a way to articulate our expectations from life. It helped us translate them into common goals for our joint venture. It even provided specs for our business plan, as we are building the type of company that will get us all to the same direction.
Photo by Jonathan Smith on Unsplash
Most important, frequently revisiting the OPPP keeps reminding me of something crucial. Sure, I want to build a company that generates significant wealth. But at the end of the day, money is not my Ithaka. Therefore, I need to keep reminding myself to take care of the other important parts of my life — which I am often too busy to cherish.
“No matter how much wealth you accumulate, in the end it will always boil down to the depth of your relationships with friends and family, and the sheer number of people you’ve helped along the way.”
