Most Important Skills for a CEO and Co-Founder at Wild One
Prioritization and financial literacy are crucial skills for a CEO, with Bill highlighting the importance of "knowing where to prioritize" team efforts and "doing fewer things better." A strong understanding of financial statements, like "how to read a P&L," is essential for informing business success and strategic decision-making across all teams.
Prioritization, Financial Literacy, Leadership, Business Acumen, Decision-Making
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Bill Wells
CEO & Co-Founder
Wild One
University of Pennsylvania
UCLA Anderson MBA
Economics
Apparel, Beauty, Retail & Fashion, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Prioritization: Effectively managing time and team efforts by focusing on crucial tasks and comfortably deprioritizing less critical ones.
2. Financial Literacy: Understanding basic accounting principles, reading financial statements (P&L, income statement), and recognizing the connection between financial health and overall business success.
3. Adaptability and Resilience: Remaining calm and effective under pressure, managing multiple tasks, and making tough decisions in a fast-paced environment
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
Beyond basic business knowledge and skills, I'd highlight prioritization. You have to know where to prioritize and how to manage your team's time and energy.
There are endless things to work on, but you need to focus on the right things at the right time. Often, less is more. Doing fewer things better is a skill useful throughout your career.
You have to get comfortable prioritizing the most important things and deprioritizing what's not critical. It might seem important or urgent, but not critical to your mission's success. You have to be comfortable with some fires burning around you, but not letting them get too high.
Another important skill, regardless of role, is financial literacy. Accounting is the language of business. Knowing the basics, like how to read a P&L or income statement, is really important.
Understanding how revenue, cost of goods sold, operational expenses, net income, or EBITDA work together informs your business success. Learning at least the basics of this in any role is crucial.