The Diary of a CEO

The first question you’ll likely have is “Okay, so what kind of laws are we talking about here?” And you might be surprised that the answer is not “different business strategies.”

“Strategy changes like the seasons,” Bartlett writes. “This is a book about the fundamental, enduring laws of building great things and becoming great yourself.” It is, after all, the diary of a CEO, not their playbook.

Bartlett groups these fundamental laws into 4 categories:

The Self, which is about “your self-awareness, self-control, self-care, self-conduct, self-esteem and self-story.” The Story, which will help you use stories as your #1 tool to turn the humans standing into your way into your allies. The Philosophy, that is “the set of beliefs, values or principles that guide your behavior.” The Team, which is the group of “the right people, bound together by the right culture,” that will help you accomplish your dreams.

Why are these 4 pillars so important?

First, yourself is the only thing you truly control. “Those who cannot establish dominion over themselves will have no dominion over others,” Bartlett quotes Leonardo da Vinci. Second, stories are the most compelling way of getting others on your side.

Third, philosophy drives behavior, and so only with the right philosophy will you choose the right actions. Finally, no one has ever built a great company on their own. You’ll need to get together a group of people and align them. Only then can the sum of your combined actions be larger than their parts.

How do you build out these pillars? That’s what we’ll discuss next!

Sometimes, people criticize Bartlett’s show for having guests with directly opposing opinions. But as a listener, the point is not to follow every expert’s advice on everything. It is to find a few that speak to you in various areas, then really commit to trying their suggestions. Bartlett’s book is no exception. Not every single one of his 33 rules will work for you. But as long as you keep filling your 4 pillars with new rules and principles you discover for yourself, you’re on the right track! Here’s one rule from each pillar to give you an idea of what you’re looking for: Fill your 5 career buckets in the right order. Never become wallpaper. Sweat the small stuff. Be an inconsistent leader. The 5 buckets are your knowledge, skills, network, resources, and reputation. Each one tends to grow the next, so you should always invest in your own knowledge first, then your skills, then your network, and so on. “Wallpaper” are the things we tune out because we see them so frequently. Our Youtube channel, for example, grows just fine, even though we don’t tell…