90. Obsessive

Dear Jan

From up close I know a family company that was entirely ruined by its 2^nd generation. A wonderfully attractive company, built up in 45 years and bankrupt within 10 years after the 2^nd generation took over the reins. The eldest sons were in charge while the youngest sons would likely have been the most capable. A pity, but that’s how it is.

It never fails to surprise me how very important the impact of top-level management is regarding company success. This seems entirely obvious to me when we speak of small businesses, but with organisations who boast thousands upon thousands of employees, you would think that all of those people united would form a buffer against incompetent management. Yet, that’s not the case. Even ABN AMRO, a world-class bank, was defenceless against the madness of their CEO, Rijkman Groenink. It didn’t take long, from the very moment Mr. Groenink turned CEO, for the bank to get decimated in terms of size.

What are the things that make a company leader so special? Is it because he or she eventually decides what the money is spent on? “He who pays the piper calls the tune” is a saying I’ve heard an angry football club owner shout before, whose team drew a match and three players alongside their coach were subsequently fired. Or is it the leader who manages to inspire his or her people? Or, could it be that ever-appealing ‘why’ that is the key to success, as Simon Sinek comments.

One of the things I notice with all ‘great’ leaders I know personally, is a nearly obsessive focus on their work. The ‘business’ is everywhere and eternal. There is seemingly no separation between work and personal life. I do see that separation with (many) employees. This might just be the biggest difference between a leader and his or her followers. Being a leader or entrepreneur is a full-time job, being a follower or an employee can be done part-time.

The leaders in our company who are successful, are always there. They are focused on just one thing and that’s the business. They are visibly present and serve as a whirlwind of energy, ideas, solutions and activities.
The ones who do not possess that nearly obsessive focus are not the strong leaders and hardly as successful. Colleagues of ours who share this obsession are very successful as well.

I hear and read a lot about the search (and the struggle of many) for the right balance between work and personal life (work-life balance). I can only imagine that kind of struggle when you are fed up of your job, or of life. The struggle may consist of the fact that you should be working more for your money, but should work less for your personal happiness. Or that you value your life less when you work. The successful leader or entrepreneur has no work. At least, that’s how it feels.

Successful leaders obsess over their ‘work’ because they think it’s great. They desire nothing else and would probably even do it for free. Next to that, work isn’t work, instead it stands synonym to challenge, adventure, excitement, sensation, satisfaction, happiness, sadness, fear, love, freedom.
In short, everything that provides them with the feeling of living life to its fullest.

Stop working, do something that invigorates you and you are a successful leader. Could that be right?

Regards,
Gerard