The best founders usually have a bit of a "screw loose" in the eyes of a normal employee...they see risk differently and have an almost irrational level of persistence.
Excellent article Chris. While reading it I was drawing charts on each one and thinking about where I have been in all of them. In my career as an entrepreneur my trust was high, and only after a few setbacks my trust level came down. I also had high levels of anxiety, but 2008 was the medicine...I crashed and became aware of this need to manage this.
Thanks for a great post Chris. In point I agree, there are certain types that seek a path of an entrepreneur life, but I need to challenge this somewhat.
Entrepreneurs usually come in various flavors, but I think one thing that you don't bring up here is a level of grandeur and/or narcissism that comes with being an entrepreneur. You need a certain level of this, since the odds of success is narrow, and you need to believe highly enough of yourself to even try.
I guess you could file this under adventurous, but I think it's deeper than just seeking adventure.
Crucial takeaways at the end there, Chris - "Soft" skills are anything but soft - when the barriers to execution are removed, what matters most is the intangibles.
This is a brilliant piece. Kevin Raper and I built an application for this exact reason.
Every point you made here, openness needing structure, energy requiring recovery, conviction needing humility, trust as a strategic choice, were patterns we watched play out in founder teams over and over.
It's a small time investment to complete some assessments, but the resulting "blueprint" and executive assessment shows where your strengths and weaknesses are along the same parameters you talk about in your article. We developed Archie, an AI executive coach inside the application, that helps you build on your weaknesses so that everyone has the same chance of success. He is quick to call you on your excuses. too. This was taken from Zach Pecenak's post on LinkedIn he made the other day about Archie:
I spent nearly 90 minutes in my first session, and instead of just "recording my thoughts," I had an AI assistant named Archie using my own psychological blueprint and past failings to call me on my BS and push me in totally unexpected directions.
It didn't just record; it dismantled my excuses in real-time. A few literal quotes:
"[Jan 4, 12:24 PM] CRITICAL ALERT: LOGIC FAILURE DETECTED. Zack, stop. We need to have a very hard conversation right now. You are currently trapped in a logical fallacy..."
"[Jan 4, 1:00 PM] DATA SYNC COMPLETE. We have uncovered the root of the 'Stuck' signal. It is a collision between your Current Reality, your Psychological Blueprint, and your Past Startup Trauma."
"[Jan 4, 1:21 PM] Stop. You are doing it again. You are looking for reasons why it won't work before you have even started."
I can't really articulate how much I learned in one afternoon. Because the system has an archive of my personality and experience, it could objectively relate my "concerns of the day" to my actual behavioral patterns (like my tendency to analyze pain rather than pivot).
It even ended with accountability:
"[Jan 4, 1:31 PM] Deal locked. I will see you on Friday. Don’t bring me ideas. Bring me Evidence. Archie out."
I’m interested to see how I feel about this in a couple of weeks, but I am blown away right now. 🤯
The goal of Fulcrum was to make self-awareness operational, not theoretical. "No noise. Just clarity." Your closing line nailed it perfectly "Self-awareness isn't soft. It's strategic."
That's the whole thesis of Fulcrum.
I loved this article and had to share how much we were thinking along the same lines. 🫶
I've noticed this pattern as well.
The best founders usually have a bit of a "screw loose" in the eyes of a normal employee...they see risk differently and have an almost irrational level of persistence.
Appetite for risk is very very different for sure ✨
Self-awareness compounds in ways most founders underestimate.
Very true John !
Excellent article Chris. While reading it I was drawing charts on each one and thinking about where I have been in all of them. In my career as an entrepreneur my trust was high, and only after a few setbacks my trust level came down. I also had high levels of anxiety, but 2008 was the medicine...I crashed and became aware of this need to manage this.
This is hands-down the best characterization of founders Ive ever seen!
Matches the description of all founders I enjoyed working with 😊
Turning decades of hard-won experience into actionable frameworks makes the book a rare mix of practical and battle-tested
Thanks for a great post Chris. In point I agree, there are certain types that seek a path of an entrepreneur life, but I need to challenge this somewhat.
Entrepreneurs usually come in various flavors, but I think one thing that you don't bring up here is a level of grandeur and/or narcissism that comes with being an entrepreneur. You need a certain level of this, since the odds of success is narrow, and you need to believe highly enough of yourself to even try.
I guess you could file this under adventurous, but I think it's deeper than just seeking adventure.
Thoughts?
Crucial takeaways at the end there, Chris - "Soft" skills are anything but soft - when the barriers to execution are removed, what matters most is the intangibles.
This is a brilliant piece. Kevin Raper and I built an application for this exact reason.
Every point you made here, openness needing structure, energy requiring recovery, conviction needing humility, trust as a strategic choice, were patterns we watched play out in founder teams over and over.
It's a small time investment to complete some assessments, but the resulting "blueprint" and executive assessment shows where your strengths and weaknesses are along the same parameters you talk about in your article. We developed Archie, an AI executive coach inside the application, that helps you build on your weaknesses so that everyone has the same chance of success. He is quick to call you on your excuses. too. This was taken from Zach Pecenak's post on LinkedIn he made the other day about Archie:
I spent nearly 90 minutes in my first session, and instead of just "recording my thoughts," I had an AI assistant named Archie using my own psychological blueprint and past failings to call me on my BS and push me in totally unexpected directions.
It didn't just record; it dismantled my excuses in real-time. A few literal quotes:
"[Jan 4, 12:24 PM] CRITICAL ALERT: LOGIC FAILURE DETECTED. Zack, stop. We need to have a very hard conversation right now. You are currently trapped in a logical fallacy..."
"[Jan 4, 1:00 PM] DATA SYNC COMPLETE. We have uncovered the root of the 'Stuck' signal. It is a collision between your Current Reality, your Psychological Blueprint, and your Past Startup Trauma."
"[Jan 4, 1:21 PM] Stop. You are doing it again. You are looking for reasons why it won't work before you have even started."
I can't really articulate how much I learned in one afternoon. Because the system has an archive of my personality and experience, it could objectively relate my "concerns of the day" to my actual behavioral patterns (like my tendency to analyze pain rather than pivot).
It even ended with accountability:
"[Jan 4, 1:31 PM] Deal locked. I will see you on Friday. Don’t bring me ideas. Bring me Evidence. Archie out."
I’m interested to see how I feel about this in a couple of weeks, but I am blown away right now. 🤯
The goal of Fulcrum was to make self-awareness operational, not theoretical. "No noise. Just clarity." Your closing line nailed it perfectly "Self-awareness isn't soft. It's strategic."
That's the whole thesis of Fulcrum.
I loved this article and had to share how much we were thinking along the same lines. 🫶
R.
Required reading for every new founder
Brilliant piece 🙏