Burnout is no badge of honor.

If you squint your eyes just enough, tilt your head at the right angle, and hold your breath for a count of 10, you might see burnout as the result of lazy, incomplete, ineffective, and bad business design. 

We hear a lot of ‘success stories’ about founders and CEOs working 12-16 hours each day, providing the latest in employee perks, or how they rely on intermittent fasting, gallons of caffeine, or some other consumption fad to fuel their growth. 

While this may lead to significant growth over multiple years, it rarely survives the transition into the next CEO. We also see lots of burnout unicorns – with the founder completely exhausted and often with the business itself in shambles. 

Business success undoubtedly takes a lot of hard work and dedication. It also requires systems designed to work effectively, efficiently, and to also include the ability to grow, and ultimately be replaced.

I believe the last concept is the most powerful – especially when founders take them selves OUT of multiple and/or individual roles. 

Take an honest assessment of what tasks/roles you A) do not like, B) are not well-suited, C) can find someone to do it better and/or more efficiently. Look to find great talent to fill those roles and share in your vision/direction. 

Build systems and processes that support roles. Only allow up to 3 systems to connect directly to you for answers, insights, and actions.