Big Red Car here.  Brrr, cold in the ATX.  Only in the low 40’s right now with a low of 29F tonight.  Pray for us hot house Texans, please.

So The Boss is speaking with several of his CEO clients and makes the observation that all CEOs are not created equal.

WTF does that mean, Big Red Car?

Virginal startup CEOs have a unique challenge that a more seasoned CEO does not have — the requirement to build the product while figuring out how to build the company and develop the business.  All at the same time.  It is a world class challenge.

A seasoned CEO — as measured by years of experience or number of startups or current performance of her startup — has a different, broader set of experiences upon which to draw.  A seasoned CEO may or may not be a serial entrepreneur.  The Big Red Car suggests that this is typically so.  A seasoned CEO is usually a serial entrepreneur.

The Boss has encountered this personally in 33+ years of CEOing.  One would expect so.

How does it manifest itself?

Many startups are confused as to whether they are really a gig, a product, a business or a company.  This is a normal conflict.

There is a tendency to posit that every startup is a business but, in fact, that may be perfectly inconsistent with the Vision of the founder.  There is no mischief or judgmental prejudice afoot here.  The enterprise may simply be a product to be developed and ultimately looking for a home.  In finding that home, that may be the liquidity event that the founder sought all along.  No harm, no foul.  The Vision was always a liquidation, monetization strategy.  The idea was that good.

On the other hand, a seasoned CEO may know perfectly well how to build a company and a business.  The company is the infrastructure in which the business is germinated.

A seasoned CEO may be completely unintimidated by articulating a Vision, Mission, Strategy, Tactics, Objectives, Values and Culture.  Why?  Well, Grasshopper, she’s done it before.

Similarly the seasoned CEO may be perfectly comfortable with fundraising, building a team, setting objectives and driving performance.  Again, she’s done it before and can do it again.

All of this is the wrapper that surrounds the development of a product or service that will either change the world or push and shove itself into a bit of market share or build a better mousetrap.  Experience almost always pays a huge dividend and creates a sense of comfort.

The inverse is also true — the first time is always the toughest.

The experience of the seasoned CEO may have been garnered through both success and failure.  Treating those two impostors just the same — thanks Rudyard — counts for the same knowledge as to what to do the next time.

“Hey, that worked great.  Got to remember to do that next time.”

“Wow, that was an ordeal.  Got to remember never to do that again.”

Both are bits of learning.

Bridging the gap

The seasoned CEO may know perfectly well what she knows, what she does not know and what she does not know she does not know.  OK, that was a bit Rumsfeldian.  Sorry.

The virginal CEO knows almost nothing and in that ignorance may be contained the greatest element of courage and bravery — not knowing that she cannot do something.  [Haha, too dumb to fail, eh, Big Red Car?  Well, yes, Old Sport, that is sometimes how it works out.  Life is funny that way.]

In both instances the solution is the same:

1.  The virginal CEO seeks out experienced counsel who HAS done it before and rents their experience.

2.  The seasoned CEO uses their own experience augmented by a bit of experienced counsel who can fill in the blank spots.

In both instances the leveling of the playing field is created by access to experience — externally and internally.

This is how the CEOs may equalize their comparative skills and talents.

So where does one look for this assistance?  Ahhh, that is the real secret.  It is all around you if you just know where to look.

Here it is for you.

But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway?  I’m just a Big Red Car.  Remember there are some things that are always difficult — hiring — regardless of how much experience you have.  Swimming the English Channel is always a tough one.  Be kind to yourself.  Every day provides more experience.  You ARE getting stronger.