Seasoned founders and CEO’s accept an important truth:
They are responsible for the success or failure of their business.
Success requires the support of others:
Yet there are 3 types of others:
1. Those that work for you.
2. Those that work with you
3. Those that work against you.
A good team of loyal people is rare, difficult to develop, yet essential for success.
Therefore a good leader must be tough yet tender; firm yet fair.
Learning to strike a balance between severity and leniency, authority and kindness, reprimand and praise makes for a good CEO.
As Ikeda Mitsumasa, the 17th Century famous Japanese Daimyo (CEO) wrote:
“If you are never lenient, your authority will lose its force…
if you are never severe, your kindness will become ineffective.”
Put simply:
Too soft and you’re taken advantage of.
Too hard and you build barriers.