Learning the Job
“The first problem is that everybody learns to be a CEO by being a CEO. No training as a manager, general manager, or in any other job actually prepares you to run a company. The only thing that prepares you to run a company is running a company. This means that you will face a broad set of things that you don’t know how to do that require skills you don’t have. Nevertheless, everybody will expect you to know how to do them, because, well, you are the CEO” - Ben Horowitz, from “The Hard Thing About Hard Things”
For the most part, I agree. You learn by doing it. My humble addition to Ben's timeless observation is this:
The tough part is that you actually need to learn everything you can about running three companies:
the one you have right now,
the one you want,
and the one it keeps trying to degenerate into.
The CEO is the only person who has to think about all three all the time.
Napoleon (1769–1821) Crossing the Alps at the St Bernard Pass, c. 1800–1801 David, Jacques Louis. The elements combine to create a paradigmatic image of the leader. Set against the backdrop of a stormy sky, pointing upwards while simultaneously controlling a ‘fiery’ horse, as his soldiers struggle with cannon in the background.
