The best CEOs aren’t the smartest. They’re the fastest learners.
Running your company without reflection is like flying blind. Blind spots multiply and your problems pile up. Before long, you’re leading in the dark and have an unhappy leadership team and employees.
In Chapter 35 of my upcoming book, What Every CEO Must Know: 37 Secrets to Lead with Confidence and Power, I share the full story behind a practice I’ve carried with me throughout my career. It’s a ritual that has kept me grounded, focused, and growing. It’s what I call my Friday Mirror Meeting and is part of my weekly workstream.
The Friday Ritual That Changed My Leadership
Every Friday, I’ve kept an “Administration Day” for years. It’s my reset mindset button. I tie up loose ends from the week, review wins, and set the top priorities for the week ahead.
I lead with 30-60-90 day plans, which allow me to track all projects. These days, leaders and companies use Notion, Trello, or similar tools, but they accomplish the same goal: which is to stay on top of obstacles I can remove, track priorities, and support every project from the top down.
But the most potent part of this routine is my “mirror meeting with myself.” I stop and ask myself three hard questions:
- Did I lead the things that mattered and make progress?
- Who needed to hear from me and didn’t? Do I owe anyone anything?
- What decision am I still avoiding?
The mirror never lies. It reflects the truth back to you.
Mistakes Are the Tuition
Every CEO in my book made mistakes. Costly mistakes. Sometimes painful ones. But here’s the lesson: mistakes aren’t the end. They’re the tuition.
What separates the best CEOs isn’t avoiding mistakes. It’s what they learn from them and how they respond to them. They reflect, adjust, and act rapidly.
The CEO Operating System: Curiosity + Courage
Key core elements of leadership are what I call the CEO Operating System: curiosity plus courage.
- Curiosity drives you to ask the uncomfortable questions. Where are the weak spots? What am I not seeing? What do I need to know?
- Courage compels you to act on the answers. To pivot when the facts demand it. To admit mistakes publicly and make them right. To make the tough calls that others avoid or delay.
Curiosity without courage is just a notebook full of observations. Courage without curiosity is reckless. You can jump out of the plane skydiving, but where will you land? Together, they form the system that keeps you learning, growing, and winning respect.
Reflection Is a Discipline, Not a Reaction
One of the biggest mistakes I see CEOs make is waiting for a crisis before they stop and reflect. The best leaders build reflection into their weekly routine.
My mirror meeting is that weekly administrative routine. Reflection is how you avoid flying blind. It’s how you reduce blind spots. It’s how you stay ahead of your company’s growth curve.
The Edge That Wins
The most effective CEOs I’ve worked with weren’t the ones with the most credentials or the loudest presence in the room. They were the ones who learned the fastest.
Continuous learning is their secret sauce, and their weekly reflection sets them up for acting with courage.
Don’t wait for a crisis to force you to grow. Build learning into your operating system. Make reflection a ritual and act on what you see in the mirror.
Because leadership isn’t about being the smartest. It’s about being the fastest learner in the room.
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To purchase my first book, “The Rookie CEO, You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!” in any format, please visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LSLLXZN. Amazon has all four formats.
You can purchase the hardcover and audiobook at any retail bookstore or ask your local library to borrow them. The eBook and paperback are currently available on Amazon.