505: How to Be a Good Wartime CEO

Explicit content warning

04/17/20 • -1 min

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to be a good wartime CEO.

In times of crisis, companies need strong leadership to make some tough decisions that will help them get through this crisis. However, there is a tendency for some CEOs to use the crisis as an excuse to behave badly towards employees and everyone around them.

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what the concept of a wartime CEO means, why there’s no such thing as a peacetime CEO, the right way to think about this concept and much more.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:00 About today’s topic.

00:40 Why this topic was chosen.

01:13 The concept of a wartime CEO.

02:55 Why there’s no such thing as a peacetime CEO.

03:57 How people think about wartime or peacetime in business.

05:07 How your business is always under attack.

05:23 The idea of wartime versus peacetime really means.

06:30 Why context really matters when deciding how to lead.

09:05 The right way to think about this concept.

10:09 How speed is the most important thing during wartime.

3 Key Points:

There’s a very different mindset and leadership style as a CEO during wartime versus during peacetime.
A lot of companies are under some level of threat at the moment.
I don’t think there’s such a thing as a peacetime CEO.

[0:00:01]

Steli Efti: Hey, everybody. This is Steli Efti.

[0:00:03]

Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah.

[0:00:04]

Steli Efti: And today on the Startup Chat we’re going to talk about being a good wartime CEO. What does it take? What does it look like? What is it? How could it be useful to know more about this? You use this framework potentially during these difficult times. So first maybe we’ll break down for the listener the concept of peacetime CEO and wartime CEO. First time I heard about this was Ben Horowitz’s book, The Hard Thing About Hard Things. I think he’s the first one to use this metaphor. I’m not sure if he stole it from somebody else. I haven’t read that book in many years, but something tells me maybe not a bad book to read right now.

[0:00:44]

Hiten Shah: Definitely not.

[0:00:45]

Steli Efti: For some people, it just describes very difficult times, very difficult decisions for a CEO. But the way I remember his breakdown on wartime and peacetime, and then I want to focus on the wartime metaphor is that he basically describes, hey, there’s different phases a company can go through, and during the peacetime for a company, it means the company is not under any direct threat by a competitor, by industry, by markets, by whatever. And it is growing and it’s prospering. And so, it’s a time where you as a CEO, you have to manage that growth, that prosperity, you have to stimulate creativity. And it was describing how for a long time Google was in peacetime, right, not on the really aggressive attack of competition and all that. And there’s a very different mindset and leadership style that’s required during peacetime as a CEO versus wartime. And wartime is the exact opposite. Your company is under direct threat either by a competitor, by an innovation technology industry market economy, or like we are probably right now, the entire world is on fire, we’re in a global pandemic and that might create a ton of economic attacks to the lifeblood of your business. So a lot of companies are under some level of a threat right now. Will we survive this time? How will we survive this time? And wartime CEOs have to be very different in the way they think and manage and they lead their troops during this time. So, I die to hear your thoughts on this, even on this peacetime, wartime framework. Do you like it, do you hate it? And then, let’s maybe unpack a little bit about what it takes to be an effective CEO during these times that maybe is different from others.

[0:02:33]

Hiten Shah: I am actually a big fan of the framework. I have a build on it. I have a build on it, and it’s kind of interesting. So, I don’t think there’s such a thing as peacetime CEO.

[0:02:56]

Steli Efti: Okay.

[0:02:57]

Hiten Shah: I think that’s the conclusion I have come to when I think about that analogy and that content and that way of thinking about it. The reason I would say that is because, if you think about tech tack, which I’m sure a bunch of people who listen are in. Maybe not, just kidding. Definitely so. And some people might not be in. And you think about it, and this analogy applies if there is any peace to ...

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to be a good wartime CEO.

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what the concept of a wartime CEO means, why there’s no such thing as a peacetime CEO, the right way to think about this concept and much more.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:00 About today’s topic.

00:40 Why this topic was chosen.

01:13 The concept of a wartime CEO.

02:55 Why there’s no such thing as a peacetime CEO.

03:57 How people think about wartime or peacetime in business.

05:07 How your business is always under attack.

05:23 The idea of wartime versus peacetime really means.

06:30 Why context really matters when deciding how to lead.

09:05 The right way to think about this concept.

10:09 How speed is the most important thing during wartime.

3 Key Points:

There’s a very different mindset and leadership style as a CEO during wartime versus during peacetime.
A lot of companies are under some level of threat at the moment.
I don’t think there’s such a thing as a peacetime CEO.

[0:00:01]

Steli Efti: Hey, everybody. This is Steli Efti.

[0:00:03]

Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah.

[0:00:04]

[0:00:44]

Hiten Shah: Definitely not.

[0:00:45]

[0:02:33]

Hiten Shah: I am actually a big fan of the framework. I have a build on it. I have a build on it, and it’s kind of interesting. So, I don’t think there’s such a thing as peacetime CEO.

[0:02:56]

Steli Efti: Okay.

[0:02:57]

Previous Episode

504: How to Notice Your Own Bias

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to notice your own bias.

As humans, it’s natural for us to have biases in different ways. However, not noticing these biases can be detrimental to us and cause us to make bad decisions in business and in life in general.

In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about the importance of noticing your own biases, examples of how people can be biased, how people can be irrational during uncertainty and much more.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:00 About today’s topic

00:36 Why this topic was chosen.

01:31 The importance of noticing your own bias.

02:32 Examples of how people can be biased.

04:16 How people can be irrational during uncertainty.

05:09 How every prediction can be right at some point.

06:34 How people don’t like to uncertain.

08:40 Examples of how people can be irrational.

09:13 How people can be unhelpful with their bias.

10:04 How biases can be a defense mechanism against being wrong.

3 Key Points:

Noticing one’s bias is sort of a superpower
There’s irrationality that comes up when we have uncertainty.
Every prediction can be right at some point.

[0:00:01]

Steli Efti: Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.

[0:00:04]

Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah.

[0:00:05]

Steli Efti: And today on The Startup Chat we’re going to talk about how to notice your own bias and how to ensure that you don’t make bad decisions because of a rigid internal bias that you might have. The reason why we wanted to talk about this, at a prior episode we were just talking about how to negotiate with oneself and we had shared a little bit about this idea that the one thing that I recently noticed of people wanting to believe something because of self-interests and then trying to selectively find the information, the experts, the articles, the data that confirms their bias and continuously defending their mind against everything that would attack their thought process and collecting the things that confirm that thought process. And how big of a waste, to me that seems such a... I mean, we always do this, but right now it’s such a heightened environment that I just notice this so much and just... I’ll give you one quick example and then let’s talk about this because noticing one’s bias, I feel like, is a superpower in avoiding making avoidable mistakes.

[0:01:23]

Hiten Shah: Absolutely.

[0:01:25]

Steli Efti: One thing that was really interesting at, I don’t know, maybe six weeks ago or so, five, six weeks ago when we were in the Western world in Europe and the U.S. Much earlier in the pandemic timeline. And it seems still very far away, like a problem that was in Asia and in China and maybe there are a few, a couple of cases in Germany, a couple of cases in the U.S. But there were still a lot of debate of it would ever become a problem in the Western world. I remember talking to a friend of mine in the U.S. And then I remember talking to a friend of mine in Germany. What was interesting was how both of them, my friend in the U.S. Was like, “Well, I’m sure I’m in the U.S., I wouldn’t want to be in Germany right now because...” I was like, “Oh, why is that?” “Well, if a pandemic would happen, I’d much rather be in the U.S. Than in Europe or Germany.” And I said, “Oh, why is that?” He was like, “Well, the U.S. Healthcare system is really amazing and it’s not as population dense and...” He brought up a number of reasons why. He was like, “You know what, I feel pretty safe, this is probably around the world, not the worst place to be at a pandemic and Germany would be much worse.” And then I talked to my German friend a couple of days later, without prompting it, he was telling me, “Well, I’m glad that you’re in Germany, Steli, right now and not in the U.S. Because you’re much safer here if there’s a pandemic.” I was like, “Really? How?” He was like, “Well, you know the German healthcare system, much better than the U.S. Healthcare system, it is a catastrophe. Then the politician...” And I was like, and that was the moment where I was thinking, “Wow, we are all so full of shit and everybody’s-

[0:03:03]

Hiten Shah: Yeah, either way.

[0:03:04]

Steli Efti: ... Trying to convince themselves that their situation in this setup is probably going to be better than other people’s.” I’m like, “Holy fucking shit. This is so interesting.”

[0:03:15]

Hiten Shah: No, and I have a good friend and she’s... Basically maybe every two or thre...

Next Episode

506: How to Instill a Sense of Urgency in Your Business

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to instill a sense of urgency in your business.

In the startup world, the most successful CEOs tend to be the ones that maintain a sense of urgency in order in their business. They react quickly to market changes, develop new products all the time or add new features to existing ones. And having this sense of urgency is key to the success of their startup.

In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the meaning of a sense of urgency, how to react in times of crisis, what makes a CEO good at maintaining intensity at all times and much more.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:00 About today’s topic.

00:45 Why this topic was chosen.

01:52 Why Steli knows how to act during a crisis.

02:35 What Steli does during a crisis.

03:22 What Steli struggles with.

04:05 What makes a CEO good at maintaining intensity at all times.

05:06 The meaning of a sense of urgency.

06:25 How to react in times of crisis.

06:55 Why the sales department is an area of most businesses with the most sense of urgency.

08:36 What a sense of urgency means to Steli.

3 Key Points:

There’s a very different mindset and leadership style as a CEO during wartime versus during peacetime.
A lot of companies are under some level of threat at the moment.
I don’t think there’s such a thing as a peacetime CEO.

[0:00:00]

Steli Efti: Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.

[0:00:02]

Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah and today on the Startup Chat we’re going to talk about this idea of having a sense of urgency in your business and instilling it across your business. The definition of this is basically people in the organization, you as an organization, thinking of urgency of execution, urgency as like a sort of either a framework, a mantra, a way of being, that I think is necessary in business and it’s something that I strive towards in my own companies. And there’s usually no better time than like when there’s a pandemic or a crisis to really think through how you can have a greater sense of urgency because you’re kind of forced to at this time. But how can you do that more regularly in your company, in your business, and why is it important? It’s kind of like, I think what we can unpack.

[0:00:58]

Steli Efti: I love it. I just had to think, what a weird statement that’s totally normal to be like, “There’s no better time to think about urgency than during a pandemic.” And it’s like, “Yeah, of course this is [inaudible 00:01:12].”

[0:01:12]

Hiten Shah: Sounds about right, right?

[0:01:13]

Steli Efti: There’s an old business saying that, thy shall move fast during a pandemic. I get it.

[0:01:20]

Hiten Shah: Yeah. I mean, come on. Okay, go on.

[0:01:28]

Steli Efti: So I’ll challenge this, because this episode is actually inspired by our last episode around being a wartime CEO, and I think I know how to act with urgency during crisis. I had been told that I’m particularly effective when things are tough and-

[0:01:49]

Hiten Shah: You know why, right?

[0:01:50]

Steli Efti: Tell me.

[0:01:51]

Hiten Shah: You’re steady, that’s why.

[0:01:53]

Steli Efti: That is true.

[0:01:54]

Hiten Shah: You’re steady. That’s it. You’re just steady, and when you’re steady and everyone else might not be steady or needs that steadiness, you’re there. That’s just who you are. And I think that that’s different. Different in the sense of like, that would be you being able to be calm under pressure. That would be my read on it.

[0:02:19]

Steli Efti: Yeah. So, so there’s some truth to that. I think there’s also something to be said that during a crisis, I know how to make decisions under fire and had creed clarity and execute, not freeze when there’s uncertainty, not freeze when the stakes are really high. I know how to kind of keep moving when the stakes are high, making decisions, making adjustments at focusing people and I’m calm. I’m not somebody that panics in a way, that would ever panic in a way that screams at people or loses mind or acts funny. I have high intensity but I’m pretty calm. But the thing I am struggling with is when there isn’t a crisis or a global pandemic or things aren’t, there isn’t a threat of some kind that ...