Anti-Optimization Leaders Excel

Michael Girdley shares his perspective on leadership and business optimization, explaining that some leaders are better suited for high-level strategy rather than day-to-day operations. He discovered this through his experience running multiple businesses, particularly his fireworks company.

Key Points:

• Personal Leadership Style:

  • Excels at "living at 80,000 feet" with big ideas and strategy
  • Prefers idea space and conversations over optimization
  • Found himself to be "precisely the wrong person" to run optimization-heavy businesses

• Optimization Challenges:

  • Identifies accounting, HR, and business optimization as his least favorite tasks
  • Realized about 6 years into running the fireworks business that he wasn't the right person for operational details
  • Believes some businesses require constant optimization that doesn't suit his personality

• Solution Approach:

  • Focuses on finding the right people to handle optimization tasks
  • Delegates operational responsibilities to those who excel at them
  • Business has "exploded" in the past 5 years by getting the right people in place

• Leadership Philosophy:

  • Values staying at strategic level rather than diving into daily operations
  • Believes in recognizing personal strengths and weaknesses
  • Emphasizes importance of self-awareness in leadership roles

• Business Success Formula:

  • Put the right people in charge of optimization
  • Stay focused on high-level strategy
  • Accept that not everyone is suited for every aspect of business operations

This perspective challenges the common notion that a leader must be good at everything, instead suggesting that understanding and accepting your strengths and weaknesses leads to better business outcomes.