TRANSCRIPT 🔗
Jimmy Allen: So, look, the year's drawn to a close. So we thought we'd do something a bit different on this episode of Founder's Mentality, The CEO Sessions. All season long, we've been asking leaders a simple question, "What's the one lesson from business that you'd actually take home to your friends and family?" And the answers have been surprising, insightful, and often, deeply personal. A few have been a bit scary, but we left those on the cutting room floor. And what's left in our view is a little holiday wreath of lessons for you to bring home. I'm Jimmy Allen, and this is Founder's Mentality, The CEO Sessions. We've got Sunny Verghese, he's Group CEO, and Co-Founder of Olam. And I think his answer actually sums up what he's built his whole career on.
Sunny Verghese: I would say the learning, first differentiate before you scale.
Jimmy Allen: So how does that translate to a child? What do you then say to that kid?
Sunny Verghese: To again build on their strengths and become really edgy on those two, three things, where, how they've been brought up and what their natural suite of intelligences, et cetera are, they can really become amongst the world's best in that.
Jimmy Allen: I love this. Before you tackle weaknesses, start by building on strengths. Find the edge. I think this applies more to parents than kids. Before we point out what our kids need to work on, let's begin with the celebration. Let's build on what already makes them so special. Now let's hear from Christina Zhu, CEO and President of Walmart China.
Christina Zhu: Before you solve a problem, making sure you're solving the right problem.
Jimmy Allen: It's exactly that. Don't rush the answer before you know the questions, right? Let's give our kids the space to pause, to refocus, to be sure they're happy with where they are before we push them to the next thing. Here's Nirav Tolia. He's CEO and Co-Founder of Nextdoor.
Nirav Tolia: I tell my kids, "Easy choices, hard life, hard choices, easy life." And the idea behind that is when you're building a business, every single day, you're making decisions. And every single day, the thing that you gravitate towards is doing the thing that has the least friction, that has the least inertia, that is the easiest to do. That makes you cross it off the list and move on to the next thing. But so many times, the value comes from doing the hard things. I tell the management team at Nextdoor, "We're not gonna get paid for doing easy things." The great thing about embracing hard things is that the outcome ends up being so much better. Even though in the initial phases, it's so much harder. The same is true to me of growing up. If my children embrace the idea of developing work ethic now, it will be so much easier for them to have work ethic in the future. If they learn to make their beds now, they're 12, 11, and nine, right? They hate making their beds. They hate putting their clothes away. They hate practicing piano. They hate doing 30
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minutes of reading. They wanna be outside. They wanna do all the things that their friends are doing. But learning those little things now, gives them advantage in the future because they'll know what it's like to first do your responsibilities and then have your fun.
Jimmy Allen: That's a big thought, but I love that Nirav also offers small, workable actions. Make a bed, practice scales, finish reading, build the muscles now to take on bigger challenges later. Hard choices today, make life easier tomorrow. But how do you turn that discipline into real progress? How do you take ambition and make it concrete? Tanuja Randery, Managing Director of AWS and EMEA, she has a really powerful perspective on that.
Tanuja Randery: I would say, know the details, sweat the details, be all over the details.
Jimmy Allen: I love that she said this, "Details matter." You can't skate in life or flag your way through a meeting in the long run, substance always wins. Sometimes it can be tough, but you've got to learn to love the dance. And that's where David Haines, CEO of Flora Food Group takes us.
David Haines: Life, ladies and gentlemen, is not a rehearsal. We might as well enjoy it whilst we have it. So enjoy the ride. If you love what you're doing and the kind of challenges that we are all facing in what I do, you'll find nowhere better to be. But if in your heart of hearts, when you go to sleep at night, you don't, you're honestly better off doing something else, 'cause you gotta enjoy life. We never know when it's over.
Jimmy Allen: Yeah, too often, as parents, I think we get caught passing down lessons that have been forged over decades in tough business arenas to children who are just figuring out schoolwork or dance invites. Sometimes the best advice is the simplest, the kind you might read on a tea mug in England. "Keep calm, and carry on." So, let's hear from Pedro Arnt, CEO of dLocal.
Pedro Arnt: Yeah, I think it's something around "Keep calm, and trust the process," right? And we're big sports fan at home, too. And I think, I love them because I love them, but one thing that as I've gotten more interested in them and I've looked at the management of professional sports, there is no more result-demanding business in the world. And yet, you talk to all of the great coaches and they mostly boil down to trust the process 'cause you don't control the result.
Jimmy Allen: We can't always control results, but we could trust the process. I like the idea of taking the focus off the result at times. One CEO in our forums put it this way. We compete millions of times a year. "When we win, we celebrate. When we lose, we learn." And I always love this line because it reminds us that life goes on regardless of outcomes. Life is a million celebrations. Life is a million lessons. Here's Stuart Gent, partner at Bain Capital.
Stuart Gent: I had an experience quite early on in my Bain Capital time, where I was working on two investments. And we always talk about
this multiples of money in terms of, you know, what did we invest in? What multiple did we get back? And one was a great investment, and we made seven times our money, which is fantastic. And the other we made 0.7. And the symmetry of the seven to 0.7 has always intrigued me. But the truth was, I was the same person, and I did the same things. And I think what it taught me was just there is a lot more out there than just you. And there is context, there are, you know, there are all sorts of dynamics of play in a business. And so all you can do is think through, "Am I operating my best? Am I moving things forward? Am I getting things done?" And that's the test you should apply to yourself. Not ultimately, is it working, is it not working, coming back to some of the things we think about. Because you know what? There's some people who have been phenomenally successful where was nothing to do with them. And there's been some people who are being considered to have failed, where actually, what they achieved was phenomenal. And I just think that's the wrong test to use. And I think if you can think more about, you know, what have I got done? What impact did I have? How did I move things forward? It's just a better way to live.
Jimmy Allen: Huh, we win some, we lose some. What matters most is our growth, the lessons we take with us, and how we get better. And that raises a deeper question. What gives us the motivation to keep going? What makes us wake up each day ready to face new challenges in business and in life? Don Katz, founder of Audible, shared some really powerful wisdom on this.
Don Katz: If I had to choose one thing, it would be that a life focused on artistic expression and building a huge company have more in common than you'd think.
Jimmy Allen: I love that. I, sorry, I have to follow up. What's the one thing they have in common?
Don Katz: They have in common is that they basically drive from an extremely well-articulated vision of the possible. That can be a goal that seems almost impossible, but you go for it.
Jimmy Allen: You know, beyond business, we should be encouraging our families and friends to dream big, and love the journey. The lessons from our CEOs add up to a bigger story. Grow, be resilient. Keep your mindset clear. Trust the process. Find joy, find meaning. And of course, stay grounded in the details. But it wasn't just our guests reflecting this season. Many of you, our listeners, shared your own lessons, too. And here are some of our favorites.
Harry Morton: It's the things about authenticity and vulnerability that I've learned in business that I most take away to other aspects of my life. I found when I started out in business, I felt this need to perform in a certain way, to lead in a certain way in order for people to buy into the mission that we were all working towards. But I've actually found that when I lean into my human side and really embrace the areas of my character that I felt I needed to diminish in some way, that's when people resonated with me the most. And that's when people really felt this sense of buy-in, and it changed culture, and it changed the way I was able to lead tremendously. And it's something that I say to my kids all the time, it's kind of corny advice to say to your kids, you know, "Just be who you are." But truly, I think it is something that has changed all of my relationships, and it's something that I want my kids to embody as well, is just leaning into who they truly are, authentically as themselves.
Rosie Stockley: So, something I've learned from founding and running my own business that I'm often telling my children about is that it's great and good to have a strong idea, and really want to stick with it. But hold those feelings quite lightly. Allow influence to come in from avenues where you might be expecting it or not expecting it. Inspiration, feedback to allow your idea to evolve, grow, or maybe completely change. Through feedback, new tech, and my audience growing with me, my core business idea evolved quite a lot, and being open to that and that change and evolution, it really helped me to grow.
Christophe De Vusser: I asked my kids, and they said there were two things. First of all, really listen well and as the right questions. And secondly, don't wait for the work, see the work.
Marty Ritter: The thing that most comes to mind would be asking for help and the notion just of growth mindset. When I first got into leadership, I thought, "Okay, I'm now supposed to be the expert. And so, if anybody asks me for something, I have to go figure it out by myself because that's my job." And I think over time, I learned that asking for help is actually gonna make your end product that much better. And no one was actually expecting me to have all the answers. And that was a big lesson. So, I try to bring that back to my kids. And when they're struggling with their multiplication facts or that math sheet that's really hard, or whatever, usually math, I just am like, "One, you can go ask for help. You can go ask your teacher for more help. There's nothing wrong with not understanding it. And also, you don't have to know all of the answers right now. It's school, you're there to learn. So you might not know it yet, but you will. And it's okay to not be perfect at everything." And so, I think that's helped with one, just building more of a growth mindset for them. And then, two, just really helps with the homework battles.
Matthew Gain: The first principle in our home is don't worry about things that are out of your control. The second principle, you never get in trouble for making mistakes. And the third principle, I expect nothing more than your best effort. Focus on what's in your control. Learn from your mistakes without fear, and give your best, whatever the outcome. That's leadership at work and at home.
Jimmy Allen: You know, before I head home, spend time with friends and family, by the way, including our first grandchild, I've been reflecting on the many conversations I've had with CEOs. So here's the lesson I'm gonna be taking home to friends and family. Bring energy to all you do 'cause we love those that bring energy. We want them on our teams, and we recommend them to others. And we hate energy vampires. So don't be one. As we end this, it's useful to be reminded that sometimes the most powerful wisdom is also the simplest. Aaron Powell, CEO of Pizza Hut, distilled it into just three words.
Aaron Powell: Say thank you. Say thank you, it's that simple.
Jimmy Allen: So, thank you. Thank you for listening and being part of this community, and I hope you take a moment this season to connect with those you love, and maybe carry a few of these insights into your own life. Not too many 'cause no one likes that guy. And of course, we'll see you in the new year. And until then, stay curious.