Most Important Skills For An Owner And CEO At Cleantech Inc.
For a role like Owner and CEO at Cleantech Inc., leadership hinges on humility, recognizing that "every single person you meet in life is going to have something for you that you didn't know," coupled with the "extreme level of toughness" required to embrace failure and champion the team. Ultimately, the most important qualities are vision and discipline, using personal pursuits like triathlon to build resilience and perspective, rendering the challenges of the job "easy".
Leadership, Humility, Resilience, Vision, Discipline
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sean Meer
Owner, CEO
Cleantech Inc.
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey
Finance
Consulting & Related Professional Services, Real Estate
Sales and Client Management
Scholarship Recipient, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Humility and Recognizing Knowledge in Others: Emphasizes the importance of humility and acknowledging that everyone possesses unique knowledge and skills from which one can learn.
2. Embracing Failure and Resilience: Highlights the necessity of developing toughness and viewing failures as learning opportunities, encouraging individuals to take responsibility and reframe setbacks positively.
3. Discipline and Vision: Stresses the significance of discipline in achieving goals and maintaining focus, using personal examples like triathlon training to illustrate how discipline in personal life translates to professional success.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
For a job like mine, I think the most important skill is leadership. It's something you learn. I've read many books on what makes good and bad leaders.
I think the most important thing to be aware of is humility. Know what you don't know and recognize that everyone you meet has something to teach you. You need humility in your own failures and should be excited by them.
Around failure, the most important skill is toughness. Be ready to be punched in the face repeatedly and be excited about it. Be the person in the company willing to take the hits for it.
If something bad happens, I need to jump in, take ownership, and reframe it. I ask myself, "What did I do to fail my team that this happened?" Conversely, during successes, give credit to those who did the work.
It's not me out there doing the work; it's the people on the front lines making the business successful. I just put everything in place and ensure people are well-compensated.
Being humble is important and something I strive to improve daily, but it's very tough. Listening is also crucial.
None of this depends on your degree, studies, internships, or whether you went to college or passed high school. What matters is whether you have a vision and the discipline.
Discipline is probably my favorite skill. When I get stressed, my coping mechanism is my bicycle. I don't turn to alcohol or other substances; I exercise.
I always have a goal that requires extreme discipline, like training for a triathlon. I think that translates well into my work. It makes sitting at this desk easy. Tomorrow, I'm running 15 miles at 5 AM. This is easy; I get to sit and talk about my wonderful job.