“The obstacle is the path”-Zen proverb

I serve two roles for my founders. A typical coaching session covers both holistically:

• Strategic thought partner. Example questions:

  • “What is the top risk to my company, and how can I mitigate it?”

  • “How can I get the most from this customer negotiation?”

  • “What markets might have the highest willingness-to-pay for my software?”

• Personal growth catalyst. Example questions:

  • “How can I cultivate courage and avoid showing up as desperate with investors and customers?”

  • “How can I achieve work/life balance?”

  • “How can I work through imposter syndrome?”

It should be clear that these two areas are strongly connected. Personal growth directly amplifies a founder’s ability to execute effectively on business priorities. Rather than searching for silver bullets that don’t exist, we focus and re-focus on clear business and leadership goals, making a little bit of headway every day.

“Without exertion, no turnabout is possible. The extent of the turnabout is dependent upon the work that we do. If we do a little work, a little turnabout occurs; if we do intense work, a great turnabout occurs; if we do no work, no turnabout occurs. What we have to do is bring ourselves constantly back to the center of this work.”

-Albert Low, Hakuin on Kensho