Hippie CEO Life #43 - Know Who You Are

February 3, 2023

“Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.”

―Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Looking back on nearly 10 years of business, one of the most important decisions we made, before any money came in the door, before we had a single customer, was to prioritize the time to truly understand who we were and we weren’t.

This may seem silly at first, because ‘of course we know who we are.’

Of course we know why we are starting a business. Why we are entering into this relationship. Why we are starting this project. Why we are building this product.

But….is it really so obvious?

Often times our reasons are all about the initial excitement, the initial infatuation, the allure of something new, the promises of future riches, of future fame, that we align with why we are doing what we do but that isn’t who we are at our very core, that isn’t the true reason why we choose to do something new.

The problem with these questions seeming so obvious, is that they seem so obvious that most people, most teams, most businesses believe that they are so obvious that spending even a minute thinking about the questions is a waste of time.

The reason why thinking about, and having answers to, these questions isn’t a waste of time is that there will be two times in which not having an answer will prove to be a very dangerous time.

If you don’t know who you are, the two most dangerous times you will face are: When you have no money at all and when you have more money coming in than you know what to do with.

Money, and the lack thereof, have a funny way of defining who you are, what you will do, what you won’t do. If you haven’t decided for yourself, it will be both the lack of money and the abundance of money that will determine how you operate, your morals, your ideals, your ethics, how you treat your employees, how you engage with your customers.

We never wanted to be in a position where a lack of money, or an abundance of money, would tempt us to do things that went against our very core. And the only way to protect us was to truly take the time think about who we are, come to agreement on what we will do and what we will not do, and then write those things down and refer to them often as a way to stay firmly rooted in our beliefs.

Here is a shortened list that we built for 33 Sticks in the very beginning:

WHO WE ARE

• We are a company that is deeply committed to sustainability.

• We are a company where people come first, the buyer is our client, not an organization.

• We are a company that charges fees based on the value we create, we will NEVER charge fees based on the number of hours we work.

• We are a refuge from the management and cultural issues that inflict most companies.

WHO WE AREN’T

• We are not a company whose opinion you can purchase. We have a zero tolerance policy for collecting kick backs or financial compensation of any kind for recommending vendor products or taking certain market positions.

• We are not a company that will grow for growth’s sake.

• We are not a company that is being built to be acquired.

• We are not a company that is interested in external validation (awards, recognition, etc.)

.

.

.

Again, this may seem silly at first, because ‘of course we know who we are’ but if we are truly being honest with ourselves, do we?

The best time to prioritize thinking about you are, and who you aren’t, is at the beginning of anything new - a new relationship, a new business, a new project. If you didn’t prioritize time in the beginning, the second best time to prioritize thinking about who you are, is now.

✌🏼💛