I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I've learned the hard way that I don't know my limits (or my company's limits) until I've surpassed them. This can be a painful lesson, the raw material for your future wisdom.
I love passing on that wisdom to aspiring entrepreneurs. My metaphorical "skinned knee" could save a younger entrepreneur from the same mistake. It's part of the reason I've written a half-dozen books and been a mentor to younger CEOs from organizations as diverse as Airbnb, Burning Man, and Zappos.
As an undergrad at Stanford (which has been dubbed the Farm since its founding), I sold two-quart calf-nursing bottles at football games that I had bought from a farm near Stanford and filled with booze. But my entrepreneurial career really started at 26, when I launched one of America's first boutique hotel companies, the San Francisco-based Joie de Vivre, which grew to 52 hotels over the two dozen years I was CEO. I loved that this company of 3,500 employees was a laboratory at the intersection of psychology and business; I was always cooking up new ideas that innovated our culture, strategy, and approach to customer service.
My ego, though, grew as fast as the company. People often asked me, "Chip, how are you doing?" and my immediate answer would be an attempt to impress them with my company's growth. Then my friend Vanda-an executive coach-took me by the shoulders, looked me in the eye, and said, "No, Chip, I asked you how you were doing, not your company." I heard her, but I also got distracted by seeing my picture on the cover of magazines and being asked to deliver TED Talks.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av Inc..
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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2025 FEMALE FOUNDERS 500
THE PANDEMIC DROVE WOMEN OUT OF THE WORKFORCE THEN SPURRED AN ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPLOSION.
HOW TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS IN 2025
If you've been waiting to sell your business, this could be the year to get the deal done. Analysts expect mergers and acquisitions to pick up, especially given the Trump administration's promise of deregulation. So if you're considering selling now, here's what you need to know.
Marina Khidekel You can tap creative funding sources for your startup, but as these founders learned, it's hard work.
Raising capital can feel like a rite of passage for startup founders—a signal that your company is on the map.
UP IN THE AIR
HOW JSX FOUNDER ALEX WILCOX BROUGHT THE PRIVATE JET EXPERIENCE TO THE MASSES WHILE NAVIGATING STRAIGHT INTO A CLOUD OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS. AND WHY HIS RADICAL NEW WAY TO FLY COULD BE IN FOR A BUMPY RIDE.
She's Done With Al. Now Lucy Guo Is Making a Big Bet on People
Inside the Scale AI co-founder's plans to help influencers get paid, like, never-have-to-get-a-real-job kind of money.
Tory Burch Is Better Than Ever.but Don't Call It a Comeback
The fashion veteran's business is hitting its stride— and she says, at 58, she finally feels like a real designer.
ZONE OF CONCERN
Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are as pervasive as they are insidious, afflicting businesses ranging from hotels to breweries to coffee roasters. In taking on this huge problem, entrepreneur Dean Wiltse has found his calling—and an opportunity.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
HE DESIGNED THE INTERNET AS WE KNOW IT TODAY. SO WHY ISN'T HE IN THE PANTHEON OF SILICON VALLEY FOUNDERS?
SET AND ACHIEVE BIG GOALS
In her latest book, Big Goals: The Science of Setting Them, Achieving Them, and Creating Your Best Life, Caroline Adams Miller shares a methodology for psychology-backed goal setting.
10 WAYS TO GET BETTER AT SALES
Today's customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making any decision is a challenge.
