10 Behaviors of Genuinely Successful People

We live in a strange time. People can call themselves anything they want and get away with it. If you believe what they write about themselves, pretty much everyone’s a CEO, an entrepreneur, a leader, a startup founder, an award-winning keynote speaker, a best-selling author, or a self-made millionaire.   

That’s how it seems, anyway. In reality, the only people these phonies fool are fools. Granted, there must be a lot of fools out there, but you don’t have to be one of them.

Look, the world is full of successful people. As a veteran of the high-tech industry, I live and work in Silicon Valley. You can’t walk down University Avenue in Palo Alto without bumping into at least four or five CEOs and VCs – not the fake kind, but the real deal. Unfortunately, you’d never know it. They’re not that easy to recognize.

The question is, how can you tell the difference between truly accomplished executives and business leaders who have something to offer you and the “fake it ‘til you make it” shysters who spew all sorts of BS all over the blogosphere, social media, and self-help business books? Simple. By their behavior. This is how real successful people behave. 

They run real companies.

They have real careers. They run real companies with real products and customers. They have real experience managing businesses and leading organizations that you’ve probably heard of. If all their bio talks about are books, seminars, and speeches, they’re not the real deal.   

They love their work.

If you ask Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, or Satya Nadella what they do for a living, all you’ll hear about is Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. They’re passionate about their work and proud of their company’s products and achievements. Success may come with the territory, but it’s not what drives them.

They do things their own way.

The way they lead and the culture they build is never copied and pasted from somewhere else. Sure, they have mentors and sometimes stand on the shoulders of giants, but they still do things their own way, follow their own instincts, and have little patience for the status quo.  

They know what they don’t know.

The vast majority of accomplished people possess humility. The ones who don’t usually pay for their hubris, sooner or later. That’s not to say that CEOs don’t have strong egos, but when you’re smart and experienced, you simply know that you don’t have all the answers … and that anyone who acts like he does is full of it.

They have common sense.

If it sounds too good to be true, it is. If it sounds utopian, it isn’t real. If it sounds like wishful thinking, it’s nothing but fluff. If it’s a quick fix, a magic bullet, a miracle cure, or some personal habit, it’s just a foolish fad. Successful people are savvy. They think for themselves. They have common sense. And they can smell BS a mile away.

They’re never satisfied with their own accomplishments.

Great CEOs and VCs are usually perfectionists who are never satisfied with their own achievements. They always want to do better – to build the next product customers love or fund the next great startup. They know that business success is about growth; it’s a marathon without a finish line.     

They’re not super-visible.

Of course there are successful people who are highly visible – Mark Cuban and Donald Trump come to mind – but they’re rare. Most are not the slightest bit interested in being famous. If fame and fortune is what drives you, I’m afraid you’re going to be gravely disappointed with the outcome.

They’re not trying to sell you anything.

Real executives and business leaders may write a book or a blog, and after they retire they may give a speech or two, but in general, they made their living running and growing their companies and selling products, not getting you to break out your wallet to hear their pearls of wisdom.  

They don’t self-promote.

They don’t have to. Their careers, their accomplishments, the success of their companies speak for themselves. You’ll never hear them breath a word about how much money they have or make. They tend to be fairly modest. There are some flashy exceptions but they’re few and far between. 

They don’t preach.

They’re generally not inspirational or motivational – unless, of course, you’re one of their employees or customers. They don’t think they possess the key to success, happiness, productivity, or any of that nonsense. They may offer lessons learned from real world experience, but they don’t do shtick. If it sounds gimmicky, then it is.

Look at it this way. How well you do in life is based entirely on the work you do, the decisions you make, and the actions you take. When all is said and done, you want to look back and feel proud of what you’ve accomplished. You want to feel good about the life you led and the impact you had on others. And you want to know you lived your own life on your own terms.

Steve Tobak

Real Leaders Own Their Mistakes

Whether you’re a CEO, a manager, or a business owner, you’re the boss, and that means you’ve got a lot of responsibility riding on your shoulders. When you’re in position of authority, your customers, investors, and employees put a great deal of faith in your ability to make the right call. So you have to step up to the plate and deliver.

But sometimes, things go terribly wrong. And while it might be tempting to fall back on some lame excuse or blame someone else, that’s a big red flag that you’re not ready for prime time. If you want to make the big bucks, you’ve got to put on your big-boy pants and hold yourself accountable. Whining and pointing fingers won’t cut it.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the need for business leaders to own their mistakes, far too many bosses act as if they never got the memo.

For example, I’ve heard former Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman(she’s currently CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Chairman of HP Inc.) make plenty of thinly veiled excuses for four long years of write-downs, layoffs, and revenue declines before finally giving in to shareholder pressure and splitting the company in two.

Whitman blamed former CEO Leo Apotheker and his botched acquisition of Autonomy. Never mind that, as a board director, she approved every decision he made. She also blamed his predecessor, Mark Hurd (now co-CEO of Oracle) for his acquisition of EDS and R&D cuts.

And when Apotheker was running the show, I remember a couple of earnings calls where he lowered the company's revenue targets after having just raised them. Instead of holding himself accountable for lousy forecasts, he blamed everyone and everything from Hurd and the breakout success of Apple’s iPad to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.    

In contrast, Hurd never pointed a finger at his predecessor, Carly Fiorina. He simply took the reins, did what had to be done, turned the company around, and led HP to market share gains across all core businesses and five straight years of profit and revenue growth, even though half his tenure coincided with the Great Recession. 

This lack of accountability epidemic is even worse in Washington. Whenever a politician opens his mouth you can expect blame to spew out. Speaking at a fundraiser in Atlanta a couple of years into his first term as President, Barack Obama blamed the sub-prime mortgage crisisand ensuing recession squarely on the Bush Administration:

“We got here after 10 years of an economic agenda in Washington that was pretty straightforward. You cut taxes for millionaires, you cut rules for special interests, and you cut working folks loose to fend for themselves. That was the philosophy of the last administration and their friends in Congress.”

That wasn’t the first time and it certainly wouldn’t be the last that Obama blamed America’s economic woes and chaos in the Middle Easton his predecessor, Republicans in Congress, anyone but himself. Frankly, it’s obscene for a sitting president – the most powerful man in the world – to shirk his responsibility and play a childish blame game.

Bush certainly had his issues, but blaming others for his failures was not one of them.

Not only can Obama, Apotheker, and Whitman learn about leadership accountability from Bush and Hurd, they can also learn about owning their mistakes from the National Football League.

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was recently taken to task for his decision to kick an extra point and send the Arizona Cardinals game into overtime (a fifty-fifty bet), instead of going for a two-point conversion, which the team had done successfully two thirds of the time this season. But like a true leader, McCarthy owned the decision and held only himself accountable.

A couple of weeks before, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlinmade the rare decision to resign after three losing seasons, instead of putting the team’s management, players, and fans through the drama over whether he’d be fired or not. He left with integrity … and his head held high.

And sophomore wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. posted an unconditional apology for his unsportsmanlike behavior against cornerback Josh Norman during a Carolina Panthers game. He could have blamed it on taunting by Norman and some pregame antics, but instead, he held only himself accountable.    

This is simple, folks. Everyone makes mistakes, but real leaders own them. Real leaders hold themselves, and only themselves, accountable. The buck really does stop with them. That’s the way it should be. That’s the only way to lead.

Steve Tobak

Startup CEOs Reveal the 1 Question They Ask Every Job Candidate

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The companies in this article were included in the Entrepreneur360™ Performance Index.

Part of the appeal of running your own business is that you get to hand-pick exactly who you work alongside each day. But let’s face it: it seems as if no matter how much you vet each candidate, you never quite know what you’re going to get.

The hiring process is challenging, especially for newer business owners. Determining whether an interviewee is well-suited for the startup environment is just the start. You must also consider whether they’d fit your company’s culture and core values, then take extra steps to ensure they’d complement your pre-existing team.

Click to Enlarge+

Image Credit: Namely

That’s why we asked a range of startup founders featured in theEntrepreneur360™ Performance Index their top, go-to question for potential candidates. Check out what they ask during job interviews and whether you should ask your potential hires the same thing: What's the one question you always ask when you interview someone? Why?

“If you didn't have to work, why would you come into the office?”

-- Gautam Gupta, co-founder and CEO of NatureBox, a monthly subscription service that delivers healthy snacks.
Why: I try to understand the person's motivations and interest.I also try to understand where they want to take their career and how NatureBox fits within that path. Lastly, I'm looking to gauge their intellectual curiosity.

“What are your career goals over the next 3-5 years?”

-- Matt Straz, founder and CEO of Namely, a cloud-based platform that helps businesses manage payroll, benefits and other HR needs.

Why: Millennials are leaving their employers twice as fast as those from older generations, making average tenure in a job about three years. With that said, I look for hiring opportunities that could surpass that time period. We invest in the employee’s development to keep them motivated to do great things because it aligns with their long-term career goals-- which is a win for the company.

“Why do you do what you do?”

-- Joe Coleman, co-founder and CEO of Contently, a software business that helps companies build audiences by managing the workflow of premium marketing content at scale.

Why: By the time I interview someone, several people whose opinion I trust have already signed off on them, so I’m really just trying to get to know the candidate. I try to get a sense of why they do what they do, their background, and what motivates them. At the end of the day, it’s really important to hire people who contribute to the culture in a positive way.

“I don't ask questions; I talk to them.”

-- Jamie Siminoff, CEO and chief inventor of Ring, the maker of the Ring Video Doorbell which allows users to answer the door from anywhere via smartphone.

Why: I want to socially understand them, learn what their interests are and see if they are a cultural fit. I think asking typical interview questions can be like a game, but social interaction is much harder for someone to rehearse.

“It isn't so much a question, but rather we always look to see if the person across the table has a passion for their field.”

-- Aaron Firestein, co-founder and chief artist of BucketFeet, an online retailer that collaborates with artists to design and create footwear.

Why: It’s important for employees to have a commitment to our overall goal of bringing people together through stories and art.

“Tell me a brief version of your life story.”

-- Gabriel Weinberg, founder and CEO of DuckDuckGo, a search engine that focuses on user privacy and doesn’t track your searches.

Why: This reveals how they view themselves and what is important to them. Their answer can be used as a guide for the rest of the conversation, jumping off from various things they say.

“What do you like -- and don’t like -- about Birds Barbershop?”

-- Jayson Rapaport, co-founder and co-owner of Birds Barbershop, a brand of salons that markets affordable, high-quality cuts and color services. The company recently launched a line of hair care products.

Why: I learn whether they’ve had any sort of relationship with Birds. If they’ve never been, have they spent time understanding what we’re about? They’ve either done their homework or they haven’t.

“If you were given $1 million dollars every year for the rest of your life, what would you do?" After an answer, I ask "Ok so you've done that, what would you do next?" and continue asking that until they can't think of anything else.”

-- David Simnick, co-founder and CEO of SoapBox Soaps, a maker of all natural, handmade soaps that donates soap products to children in need.

Why: Usually the last answer or two shows what the person really wants out of life and tells me what they care about the most. It helps me understand what motivates them.

“Who were the competitors at the last company you worked for and how did your company differentiate itself?

-- Ian Siegel, co-founder and CEO of ZipRecruiter, which lets employers post jobs to hundreds of job boards with one submission and sends job seekers postings via tailored email alerts.
Why: I want to determine if the candidate had a strategic understanding of the business. Surprisingly few candidates can answer this question. I am especially impressed by candidates who have a grasp of existing competitors, potential competitors and what a disruptive, new market entrant could do.

"Why Shoptiques?"

-- Olga Vidisheva, founder and CEO of Shoptiques, an e-commerce destination that sells goods from local boutiques.

Why: We only hire people with a clear enthusiasm for what we do, because those are the only kinds of employees who will help you innovate and who can grow with your company.

Tanya Benedicto Klich

The 5 Times Leaders Should Say No

Leadership requires making decisions. Though we are in an increasingly data-driven world, many decisions a CEO faces are bedeviled by insufficient information, compelling arguments on both sides and passionate advocates you don’t want to demotivate. Over the years, I've learned the importance of saying "no." Not only does turning down initiatives and events free up time but can also help you stay on-point with your business's goals.  

Below I’ve identified five of the most popular "flavors" of no and why you should practice each of them.

1. No to a bad idea

You’d think this one would be simple. “Jack, that’s a bad idea, we aren’t going to do that.” Yet, we have so bought in to the trope that “there’s no such thing as a bad idea,” that we twist ourselves into knots -- and waste a lot of time --  trying to honor the idea, or at least the creator, rather than calling it what it is and moving on.

The more experience and talent there is in the room, the less explanation or handholding is needed and the faster you can get to no. That said, ego and pride of ownership is tied to every idea and managing the emotional aspect of a no is critical. This is particularly important for more junior contributors that have not developed their protective callouses and might require additional coaching.

2. No to a good idea

If your product or service is good, there will be no shortage of ways to expand it -- new features to add, ways to monetize and offerings to attach, to name a few. There may be so many good ideas that you can’t pursue them all at once. That’s where you must be particularly mindful of your business strategy and protective of your resources. Do too many things at once, even if you have the resources, and you can confuse your customers.

Constantly ask yourself, “what are our strategic goals for this quarter/year” and how much does this idea move us forward?” Then say no -- or "later" -- to anything that isn’t going to represent a big leap forward against what you’ve already established is important.

3. No to a client

Clients frequently ask for things that we really, really want to say no to, but we usually don’t.  Sometimes we give them the benefit of our advice with an open invitation to ignore us: “We recommend against that course of action, but…” you get to win because you pay us.

Occasionally, a client will ask for something that will actually hurt your business, as opposed to something simple like a price discount. For example, they will expand their business with you if you give them some sort of exclusivity. When you know you have to put your business before the client, you must say no and hope that they respect you and your business needs enough to accept the answer.

4. No to a seller

You depend on your sales people to keep the lights on and the investors happy. So when one of them tells you they can double their productivity if only X, the rules for saying no to a good idea kick in -- even if it’s a bad idea. This is a special category, though, because a seller is prone to hearing the no and translating it into “we will not give you what you need to succeed here.”

The seller is usually responding to a need expressed by a client (e.g. their current strategy is to buy something different than what we offer and so the seller sees a huge opportunity). Usually, though, the only way to fill the perceived gap is to materially change the current business to be more like another company. The trouble here is deciding whether the need is a new opportunity for the organization or whether it is fool’s errand. In the first case, some of the best ideas come from the folks closest to the customers. However, a new product can just be a "me too" offering that opens your business up to a new set of entrenched competitors. This second case of a suggesting an expanded offering might just be a throw away suggestion given by the buyer to spare a seller’s feelings in response to the question of “how can I win more of your business.”.

5. No to a candidate

As CEO, particularly in a small to mid-size business, you are often the last interview before a hire. The only reason a candidate meets you is because everyone else has given a thumbs up. In most cases, you are not an expert in their skillset so yours isn’t a technical interview, it’s an attempt to get to one central thing: Will this candidate thrive here? Sometimes, the answer is no.

While you may not have to tell the candidate directly, you do have to tell the hiring manager that their finalist cannot work here, for reasons completely separate from what the hiring manager may have prioritized. You can agree that they have the skill, knowledge, experience and still say no. With this no, you are telling your manager that her search isn’t over, she may be back to square one and the problem this hire is intended to solve is going to go on for a while longer.

It’s important that you be able to explain in very human terms what you saw inside the candidate that made you uncomfortable and that you not let the hiring manager rebut your assessment. After all, the hiring manager did pass your test, and your job now is to help them thrive.

Jon Elvekrog

Use These Cover Letters That CEOs Read

Last week I wrote about 5 Ridiculous Cover Letter Mistakes. It’s difficult to get past the gatekeepers at an organization and even harder to reach time-challenged CEOs. But as the CEO of a rapidly growing software company like Aha!, which receives hundreds of resumes a month, there are some intro emails that do catch my eye. 

So, what kind of cover letters do CEOs actually read?

A 2014 study by SHRM says that cover letters are still important to many companies in this modern age, even if they are read in under a minute. So even if you are just typing your “cover letter” in the body of your email, please carefully consider your approach.

" Take the time to concisely share your credentials and quantify your accomplishments. If you do, you will see more responses to your notes."

The key is to:

• Do your research
• Send a custom email
• Focus on past achievements
• Provide the link to your LinkedIn profile
• Provide a PDF of your resume (remember that if we are not connected I can not see your entire LinkedIn profile)
• Keep it short

And stop wasting time applying to jobs that you know nothing about or have no credentials for. Here are some cover letter templates that work. I have used these myself and have included two scenarios.

I. When you have relevant experience for an open role

For example, let's imagine I was writing this a few years ago.

Subject: SaaS marketing expert interested in your Product Marketing role

Body:
I have 8 years of experience in SaaS Marketing and would like to speak with the right person about your open role. I believe I am a good fit because I have:

- Led over 12 product launches for leading SaaS companies
- Increased leads for the sales team at my current company by 50%
- Established social media marketing programs and have generated over 2,000 followers

Please find my LinkedIn profile here: www.linkedin.com/in/bdehaaff/

I have also attached a PDF version of my resume.

I graduated from Northwestern with a Masters in Marketing and I have a BA from U.C Berkeley in Philosophy. I currently run product marketing for Netli. I am looking to join a high growth company like Aha!

Could we set up a 15 minute intro call?

Best,
Brian

II. When you have relevant experience and are interested in a company but do not see the perfect role

For example, let's imagine Keith was writing this a few years ago.

Subject: Content specialist for top 50 Web property interested in joining Aha!

Body:
I have 5 years experience in SEO, social, and content generation in B-B SaaS. I would like to know if you may have a relevant role that is just not listed on your site yet.

Please find my LinkedIn profile here: www.linkedin.com/in/keithandbrown

I have also attached a PDF version of my resume.

I graduated from Texas and currently run content and SEO for YP. I am looking to join a high growth company like Aha!

Please let me know.

Thanks,
Keith

CEOs are busy people, but we always welcome the right people showing the right interest. We are looking for the best of the best to join our teams. The wisest leaders are committed to surrounding themselves with people who are smarter than they are."

"One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is being prepared."

So prepare your cover letter carefully, catch our eye quickly, and you should hear back from us. Just don’t copy and paste these templates without making them yours. If I find a BA in Philosophy from U.C. Berkeley in there somewhere, I will smile.

What intro emails or cover letters have worked best for you?

Brian de Haaff

7 Concepts Every CEO Has to Nail

Just because you call yourself a CEO doesn’t make you one.

For one thing, if a board of directors doesn’t name you chief executive officer of a real corporation, you’re sort of like a silly little kid playing grownup. More importantly, you’re probably misrepresenting your abilities, as well.

If you don’t have these seven concepts down, you may want to think about changing your Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. And I definitely wouldn’t quit my day job just yet, either.   

Your product is your brand. You’re not. The secret to great marketing is to come up with a killer product customers need at the right price. You can promote your business and yourself all day long, but if you can’t come up with an awesome product that people want to buy, nothing else matters. Seriously.   

If you can’t sell your vision. Nobody will buy it. We all talk about the importance of vision, but you have to be able to sell it to potential customers, employees and investors and I mean all day long. If your stakeholders don’t buy it, nobody else will either. If you find yourself pitching your concept in your dreams, you’re on the right track.

You always have to have enough money in the bank. The number one failure mode for small businesses is they run out of cash. There was a time when you could bootstrap a company, but markets are so hypercompetitive these days it’s much harder than it used to be. I’m not a believer in Kickstarter, either. If you can’t sell at least one or two investors on your idea, you’re probably not ready for prime time.

You must focus on doing one thing better than anyone. Everybody knows they need to differentiate but few understand what that really means. It means coming up with a customer value proposition that your company and your company alone does better than anyone else. Once you figure out what that is, focus on doing that and just that.

Business is about understanding people. Business is not about building your personal brand, your network or your Twitter following. It’s not about your blog or what you post on LinkedIn or Facebook. Business is about people. It’s about relationships. If you want to do business in the real world, you’ve got to connect and build relationships with real people in the real world. Period.

You have to know what you’re doing. Passion alone won’t cut it these days. Whatever it is you’ve decided to do, if you have no idea what you’re doing, you will fail and fail miserably. Sooner or later you’ll have to make smart decisions and that means having enough experience and capability to know smart from not-so-smart. And no, just thinking you’re smart won’t cut it either. Everyone thinks they’re smart.

You’ve got to hire, motivate and retain talented people. This is one of the trickiest aspects of running a company. I’ve known dozens of real corporate CEOs who couldn’t hire the right people or keep them motivated to save their lives. It’s a remarkably common pitfall of small businesses and startups, as well.

If you think running a company is like falling off a log, be my guest, go for it. But I guarantee you’ll see things differently after falling on your face a few times. Save yourself the trouble and get a handle on things first. Don’t be in such a hurry to call yourself a CEO. Better off becoming one first.

Steve Tobak