Firing yourself is one of the most important rites of passage for anyone who is used to helping with everything. As a company grows, the pie gets bigger and the percentage of it occupied by one person needs to shrink. Why? Because there is only so much time in the day. And because organisations all have a natural tendency to turn their founder/ceo/director into a bottleneck. (And some people gladly hang on convinced they are crucial and essential).
In my experience all organisations tend towards complexity and concentration of power. This never ends well… The promotion of simplicity and autonomy are the antidote 🧪.
So as a company enters a new phase in its growth it must shed its skin, reinvent how it works, and the best possible thing you can do is join in on the metamorphosis.
Communication and structure will change in a growing company, but its values, vision and mission should remain the same. The reason why we started the business and the problem we are trying to fix has only grown more meaningful. That is why we write it down, share it constantly and let it guide our actions every single day. What does need to change is the way the company operates, how work gets done, and who does what.
So on January 19th 2021 it was time🕛.
Time for the old to make space for the new.
I informed the team over Zoom (not exactly the way I had imagined doing this 2 years earlier) and we briefly reviewed our success so far and the great opportunities that lie ahead.
I ended the meeting with explaining that their time had come. They were ready. Or at least as ready as they would ever be. You learn how to swim by swimming. Not by watching Youtube videos.
It was time to step up – yet again – as everyone has done so many times before. Time to embrace the opportunities ahead. To decide to always be learning. To agree to compete with our past selves. For each and every one to take on a bigger challenge and more active role in the team and in the business.
It was time to leave the comfort zone. For all of us.
The results will be phenomenal. It is written in the stars. ✨
I sent everyone a letter. The letter of resignation I had written months earlier during the 2020 lock down. The letter is titled “Autonomous Flight 🚁🚀”. And you can download the original version here.
Now the word was out, the letter had been delivered. I did it. I had fired myself after more than 15 years.
I had a deep feeling of pride and excitement. The business – even though technically still mine – could not be in better hands.
As I went surfing 🏄🏻♂️ for the rest of the day I knew Genesis Home Technology Architects was set up for tremendous growth ahead – more on that in tomorrows post.
Note: This is part II of a series of V stories this week on my entrepreneurial journey of the last 2 years.
Episode II (previous) – here.
Episode IV (next) – here