Diary of a CEO - a short summary
Universal laws to apply to your life.
Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO is one of my favorite podcasts. Naturally, I was very excited to get a copy of Steven's latest book, which is a collection of the learnings he has gained from hosting the show.
The book focuses on 33 universal laws that Steven believes anyone who wants to be successful should embrace.
“This is a book about the fundamental, enduring laws of building great things and becoming great yourself. These laws can be used by anyone, regardless of your industry or occupation. These laws will work now or 100 years from now. These laws are rooted in psychology, science and centuries of research, and to further validate these laws I surveyed tens of thousands of people across every continent, every age group and every profession.”
In this post, I will highlight the 5 laws that I found most interesting and aspire to embody in the future.
Law 1: Fill your five buckets in the right order.
Steven explains that there are five buckets that determine your human potential. The order in which you fill those buckets is vital to your success.
The five buckets (by order of importance):
Knowledge
Skill
Networks
Resources
Reputation
In the early stages of our lives, we typically focus on acquiring knowledge through education, internships, and other means. As we begin to apply this knowledge, we develop skills. The application of these skills attracts the interest of others and helps expand our network. Having a broad network of relationships provides access to more resources, and over time, our reputation grows.
What is interesting about the sequence of these "buckets" is that if you remove the first one, the rest will collapse. However, if you remove the last few buckets(3-5), the first 2 remain. While you may lose professional relationships and resources, you still retain the knowledge and skills to rebuild them.
“It’s clear that an investment in the first bucket (knowledge) is the highest-yielding investment you can make. Because when that knowledge is applied (skill), it inevitably cascades to fill your remaining buckets.”
Law 2: To master it, you must create an obligation to teach it.
This law embodies the exact reason why I chose to start this blog. It wasn't for financial gain or to amass a large following. It was to learn.
Being able to distill an idea and effectively share it with an audience is not only the way to comprehend it, but also the evidence that you truly understand it.
Law 19: Sweat the Small Stuff
An individual's success will be defined by their attitude towards the small stuff. These things are often overlooked by others. However, most of the time, the easiest way to achieve greatness is by accumulating small wins every single day. In every pursuit you venture into, search for minor, even trivial ways to improve.
This philosophy is embodied by the Japanese principle ‘Kaizen’:
Kaizen means 'continuous improvement'.
In the kaizen philosophy, innovation is viewed as an incremental process. It is not about making big leaps forward, but rather about making small improvements in small ways, everywhere possible, on a daily basis.
The kaizen philosophy emphasizes the need to establish a standard, ensure that everyone meets the standard, encourage everyone to find ways to improve the standard, and repeat this process indefinitely.
Implementing the kaizen philosophy requires time, investment, and a strong belief in its effectiveness.
Law 22: You must become a plan-A thinker.
Your belief that you have a plan B may be the biggest impediment to your success. Keep focused on what you are aiming for and go after it. Take failure as another step in your path to victory.
“When the human mind excludes all other possibilities and fixates on a single path, that path draws in every available ounce of your passion, perseverance and power, leaving no room for hesitation or deviation.”
“Having a back-up plan, or even considering one, has been shown to potentially hinder your performance by making you less driven to hit your primary goal.”
Law 24: You must make pressure your privilege
All great achievements have been preceded by great pressure. A life without pressure lacks purpose.
Harvard Business School professor Alison Wood Brooks has demonstrated how reframing anxiety as excitement can improve performance in tasks like sales, negotiation, and public speaking. The goal is not to eliminate pressure, but to change your relationship with it.
The evolutionary purpose of stress is to motivate you to perform your best, elevate your performance, and tackle the challenges you face. In response to stress, our bodies produce hormones like adrenaline and dopamine, which supply the brain and body with necessary blood and oxygen. This leads to increased energy, heightened alertness, and improved focus.
When the markets are in turmoil, embrace those emotions and adrenaline - get excited. This is an opportunity to invest in wonderful businesses at rare valuations. Your chance for significant returns has greatly increased. Embrace that stress as your ally, your motivator, and consider pressure a privilege.
Resources
Bartlett, Steven. The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life. Ebury Publishing. Kindle Edition.