You'll Hate Me
What I tell every founder I work with on day one, and why I mean it.
The first thing I tell every founder I start working with is that at some point during our time together, they’re going to hate me. There will come a time when some of their team doesn’t particularly like me either.
Not dislike me. Hate me. Be genuinely annoyed by me. Want to ignore my texts.
[I’m totally fine with this btw.]
And also know, in the same breath, that I’m telling them exactly what they need to hear.
That’s the deal. It’s not a threat. It’s the most honest thing I can say before we start, because the work I do is not about making you feel good. It’s about moving your business forward. Sometimes those are the same thing. A lot of the time they’re not.
I was on the Sales to Service podcast with Tam Smith recently and she pushed me on this directly. What does that actually look like in practice? What happens when a founder doesn’t want to hear it?
The rest of the episode went deep on some things I think about constantly in this work. Here’s a taste.
The infrastructure problem nobody names.
Most founders think they’re the problem when things stall. They’re not. The company was built around them, which means stepping back isn’t a matter of willpower or learning to delegate better. It’s a matter of rebuilding how the whole thing is wired. We talked about what that actually looks like, and why the “just let go a little more” advice misses the point entirely.
What I look for in a founder.
Fifteen years of this work and I’ve gotten pretty clear on who I love working with. It has nothing to do with how smart they are or how long they’ve been in business. It comes down to one thing, and it’s rarer than you’d think. Tam asked me to name it and I did. It’s in the episode and I think it’ll land whether you’re in a growth moment right now or just starting to think about what’s next.
The team member you’ve been keeping too long.
You know who I’m talking about. Not terrible enough to feel justified letting them go, but not good enough to stop costing you time, energy, and momentum. The reason you haven’t made the move yet is probably not the reason you think it is.
In the episode I walked through a specific client situation where this played out, how it ended, and what she said to me on the other side of it. It’s one of those stories that tends to stick with people.
The noise question.
Tam does a rapid-fire round at the end of her episodes and she asked me: if you only had one hour a day for business growth, how would you spend it? My answer had nothing to do with content, outreach, or strategy.
It came out of something Eleanor Beaton said at an event I attended in April that I genuinely cannot stop thinking about. We do not need more information. We just need to make better decisions.
That reframe is doing a lot for me right now and I have a feeling it might do something for you too.
On owning what you’ve built.
We ended up in a conversation about the particular discomfort a lot of founders have with celebrating their own wins out loud. I had to just say it directly on the podcast and I’ll say it here too: if you are not your own biggest cheerleader, you are leaving energy on the table that directly affects your business development. This is not a soft point.
Go listen to the full episode. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN | Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify. Tam is a sharp interviewer and she went places I didn’t plan on going, which is always when the good stuff happens. LOVED her questions, we had such a fun chat!
PS - my mom has already told me she loves this episode so what are you waiting for? How much more of a recommendation do you need?!
And if you want to support this newsletter and the thinking behind it, a paid subscription is the most direct way to do that. Everything I write here is the same lens I bring to every founder I work with. Glad you’re here for it.
Until next time,
Johanna
