What personal habit or behavior helped you accelerate your personal growth?
I don't just want to know things, I want to understand them. That leads to different questions and discussions and different answers. It makes the basis for decisions much thicker. Never get tired or embarrassed of asking to go deeper into a topic.
What shift in perspective / mindset has allowed you to see things differently?
Always be yourself to stay happy and go where you belong. If you must pretend you will reach dead ends.
What do you do to maintain balance in your life?
Kyudo (Japanese Archery) and my wife help me to maintain my balance. And coding as the best hobby there is ;)
When times are tough, who or what is an anchor for you?
Humor and calmness help to weather the storm. There will always be another storm somewhere waiting to be faced. Do not worry, you will get through it.
What's your secret sauce for building a great team?
Always check the mindset of new candidates for a team. Skills take a team where it needs to go, mindset takes it beyond.
What’s an important belief that informs the way you build and run your business?
Doing good things will lead to good things. Don’t be naive but be good - always.
What should leaders understand about their own role and responsibility?
Leading means taking risks and also letting go of control. Building trust and collecting metrics along the way will give you peace of mind and a good foundation for a great product and balanced work-life.
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What should leaders understand about their own role and responsibility?
Your own time and energy is the most precious resource you have. Use it wisely, and learn what gives you energy, and what saps you. In the early years of building something, you need to throw a huge amount of time at it - and do many things you perhaps don’t like doing. But as you scale, it’s vital to take a step back and build a business that can grow rapidly beyond the time you put into it.
What shift in perspective has allowed you to see things differently?
It may sound simple, but realizing and truly understanding that we are all different and driven by different things has made a significant impact on me. This insight has changed the way I approach relationships and leadership.
What’s a guiding principle that informs the way you build and run your business?
One of our core values at Cozero is radical candor. It is the idea that the willingness to repeatedly enter uncomfortable situations to speak the truth benefits everyone in the long run. We believe that in order to grow and improve as an organization, we need to create an environment where our team is not afraid to challenge processes and decisions. Making this a core value guides us in difficult situations when it’s not clear which road to take.
What's a mistake that you're happy you've made?
I'm happy I chose a highly regulated market, even though it was tough. It taught me a lot about patience, attention to detail, and the importance of doing things right. These lessons have made me better at what I do.