Maybe you've struggled with needing to seem in charge or on top of a challenging situation, even when you're unsure of what to do. If so, you've likely heard the siren song that tempts you to be a know-it-all. But Matt Mullenweg shows us how the learn-it-all is most likely to achieve greatness. Check out Mike’s interview with Bob Metcalfe (of Metcalfe’s Law) where he also discusses leadership lessons.
Maybe you've struggled with needing to seem in charge or on top of a challenging situation, even when you're unsure of what to do. If so, you've likely heard the siren song that tempts you to be a know-it-all. But Matt Mullenweg shows us how the learn-it-all is most likely to achieve greatness.
Check out Mike’s interview with Bob Metcalfe (of Metcalfe’s Law) where he also discusses leadership lessons.
Matt Mullenweg:
... learned a ton. I could have never been the CEO, become CEO of Automattic or be the CEO I am today, if I hadn't studied essentially under Toni for eight years.
Speaker 2:
This quote from Matt Mullenweg perfectly illustrates a lesson of greatness. "Founders who go the distance are learn-it-alls, not know-it-alls". Let's discuss why. Welcome to Starting Greatness, a podcast dedicated to ambitious founders who want to go from nothing to awesome, super fast. When you're a startup founder, you have to channel your inner James Bond, your MacGyver, your Wonder Woman. I'm going to help you win by curating the lessons of the super performers, but before they were successful. So without further ado...
Speaker 3:
Ignition, sequence, start.
Speaker 2:
Let's get started. Nobody wants to be a know-it-all in the negative sense of the world. Maybe you've struggled with needing to seem in charge on top of the situation, even when you're unsure of what to do. If so, you've probably heard the siren song that tempts you to be a know-it-all, but the learn-it-all, is the path to greatness. Counter-intuitively, the core difference between a know-it-all and to learn-it-all has to do with whether you're focused internally on yourself and the need to impress others with your capabilities or on the broader success of your startup and its mission. Unfortunately, know-it-alls limit their personal upside as well as the growth of the organizations they're part of. I've seen a few know-it-all archetypes, the first is the egocentric young founder.
Speaker 2:
Many founders are very smart, well-educated and have gotten positive feedback their entire lives. They see themselves as people of destiny and want the rest of the world to see them that way too. The second, who's on the other end of the spectrum is the experience know-it-all. They've done it all, so they have all the answers. They think the process of their last company was the best practice. So your startup should do it the same way, regardless of the fact that your startup isn't Google. Perhaps most dangerous, they seek facts to confirm what they already believe, rather than questioning their beliefs rigorously. Third is the fake it till you make it type. They believe not having an answer is a sign of weakness. So they try to command the room with their opinions, even when they don't know what they're talking about.
Speaker 2:
And then last but not least, we have the smartest person in the room archetype. When someone else is speaking, they can't wait for them to finish so they can make their point. They're too busy, rehearsing what they want to say in their own mind and missing clues on what they could be doing better. This brings us to learn-it-alls. They know that a startup that wins has to grow at hyper speed, which means they must learn at the same rate. If you gave me a choice between a less capable, learn-it-all founder and a know-it-all founder with a headstart, I would take the learn-it-all every time. The upside of the know-it-all is always kept, but authentic learn-it-alls will surprise you. Matt Mullenweg's path to greatness is a great example. And we were lucky that he shares his experience so honestly.
Speaker 2:
One of my favorite examples is when he talks about a Stinson Beach Retreat, that was a disaster. He recounted how he's leading the meeting so poorly that his senior leaders literally walked out. In situations like this, it's tempting to feel threatened rather than to take an honest self-inventory. But Matt chose the latter by recruiting Toni Schneider, as well as other capable senior leaders. Matt view Toni's mentorship as a gift and an opportunity, not as a signal of his own weakness, not as a threat to his authority. He didn't get hung up on needing to be CEO, but Matt didn't stop there. He recognizes CFO's ability to understand how to institute a great culture and learned how to apply it not just to his company, but as a cornerstone of his future leadership style. And here's the crucial thing, he ended up accelerating his ability to be an effective CEO by not being in such a hurry.
Speaker 2:
Much like Steve jobs, his second stint at Apple was different. Matt second act as CEO is where he's found his groove. So what does this mean for you? What specific steps can you take as a founder to be a learn-it-all? First, know your own personal balance sheet. We all have our assets and liabilities. It's way better to be realistic about what yours are right now than to deny your limitations at the expense of your startups and your own potential for growth. All of us have weaknesses. All of us worry about what others will think of us in the areas where we come up short, but in the end, most people don't think it's that big a deal when you ask for help, especially when they know it's because you are trying to advance a shared mission. People respect it when you know your balance sheet so well that you seek help before they have to tactfully persuade you that you need it.
Speaker 2:
Your personal balance sheet can always change. Your assets can change for the better. Hopefully your liabilities won't get worse. But as a founder, you want to make sure that you are 100% accountable for knowing where you stand at all times. Don't be afraid of seeming incompetent if you ask for help. Ironically, research shows that people who seek advice are usually perceived as smarter than those who don't. Second, learn from the experience of others constantly. It's been said that experience is the best teacher, but many take too narrow of a view of this. They want to learn from their own experiences rather than take the opportunity to learn from the experience of others as well. Learn-it-alls don't just ask others for their advice, they listen to other people's experiences so that they can draw their own insights.
Speaker 2:
Suppose you want to hire your first sales person at your startup, you decide to talk to another startup CEO who's been successful and one who's not. Instead of asking, how should I hire my first salesperson? Ask instead, tell me about the times you hired your first sales person. What was the experience like? And what did you learn? It's also important to surround yourself with the right experts at the right time. As your company grows, the types of expertise needed will change. In the zero to one phase of your startup, you need to know how to find desperate customers for your product. In the growth phase, you need to upgrade your team and execution to deliver predictable results with a pattern. To keep pace, you'll have to change too, which means asking for different types of advice from lots of different people along the way.
Speaker 2:
Finally, listen more than you talk. People who view themselves as experts, too often become attached to being right in their areas of expertise. It also works against a growth mindset because it suggests that you've reached a peak of understanding of a field. You might remember from last season, Bob Metcalfe mentioned that Bill Krause, the newly appointed CEO of 3Com wrote one thing on his notepad during an entire team meeting, DNT, DNT. Bob asked Bill after the meeting, why did you keep writing that acronym silently on your notepad? What does it mean? Bill said, DNT stands for do not talk. There are times in a meeting where I say something, but I realize I should listen. Whenever I feel that tension, I write DNT to remind myself, to listen and learn more and talk less.
Speaker 2:
If we think of ourselves as students who are always questioning, searching, exploring, and observing, we adopt a mindset more conducive to growth. In closing, for what it's worth, it's really hard to be a learn-it-all. All of us have silent voices in our minds. Some of these voices tell us we aren't good enough. Some tell us never to show weakness, but the North Star is to be a learn-it-all, to understand when you need to tell those internal voices of wanting the last word to be quiet and stand in the corner. After all, you're too busy for those distractions as you make the conscious decision to own your ability to always get better and smarter.
Speaker 2:
Thanks for listening to this lesson of greatness. If you found this episode insightful, you might enjoy my interview with Bob Metcalfe who started 3Com and later learned a great deal from Bill Krause, the CEO he decided to bring on board. Here's a preview of Bob's insight.
Bob Metcalfe:
So that's when I began learning the secret of sales, which is listening. And Bill knew the secret and he taught it to me, in order to listen, you can't be talking.
Speaker 2:
You can find a link to that interview in the notes for this episode, or find it in our archives @greatness.floodgate.com. I appreciate you listening and I'd love to have you subscribe wherever you get your podcast so you don't miss an episode. And if you like the show, I'd be grateful if you could leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. And until we catch up again, I hope you never let go of your inner power to do great things and whatever matters to you. Thank you for listening.