Replace himself.
Odd that his initial priority upon becoming CEO is to think about leaving– to be able to fire himself and yet have the company still run smoothly.
I asked him why– and he told me that “everyone is replaceable”.
A strong leader has a duty to build others up so that he can be replaced.
Yet when you lose a key employee or even a co-founder, as I did recently, your company shouldn’t be so dependent upon them that it would go under.
Or that key team member be so important that they have leverage over you, so they can take advantage of you, inadvertently or intentionally– my mistake, too.
Thus, your first task even as a founder or entrepreneur– large or small– is to replace yourself and make sure everyone else does the same.
I wish I heard such wisdom sooner– how about you? And how does this change your perspective or what you do next?
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is co-author of the #1 best selling book on Amazon in social media, The Definitive Guide to TikTok Ads. He has spent a billion dollars on Facebook ads across his agencies and agencies he advises. Mr. Yu is the "million jobs" guy-- on a mission to create one million jobs via hands-on social media training, partnering with universities and professional organizations.
You can find him quoted in major publications and on television such as CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and LA Times. Clients have included Nike, Red Bull, the Golden State Warriors, Ashley Furniture, Quiznos-- down to local service businesses like real estate agents and dentists. He's spoken at over 750 conferences in 20 countries, having flown over 6 million miles in the last 30 years to train up young adults and business owners. He speaks for free as long as the organization believes in the job-creation mission and covers business class travel.
You can find him hiking tall mountains, eating chicken wings, and taking Kaqun oxygen baths-- likely in a city near you.
