Replace himself.
Odd that his initial priority upon becoming CEO is to think about leaving– to be able to fire himself and yet have the company still run smoothly.
I asked him why– and he told me that “everyone is replaceable”.
A strong leader has a duty to build others up so that he can be replaced.
Yet when you lose a key employee or even a co-founder, as I did recently, your company shouldn’t be so dependent upon them that it would go under.
Or that key team member be so important that they have leverage over you, so they can take advantage of you, inadvertently or intentionally– my mistake, too.
Thus, your first task even as a founder or entrepreneur– large or small– is to replace yourself and make sure everyone else does the same.
I wish I heard such wisdom sooner– how about you? And how does this change your perspective or what you do next?