Quick story on the one time I watched a podcast episode of The Diary of the CEO by Steven Bartlett.

I decided to listen to a podcast while working.

I don’t do this most of the time.

I decided to search for Steven's podcast online. I think his podcast is one of the best out there.

I clicked on the episode where he interviewed Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO.

I learned a lot from him about building a disruptor.

Prior to Airbnb, we never imagined that bed and breakfast would be a billion-dollar global business.

I also learned the downside of being an entrepreneur.

How Brian struggled during the pandemic.

He also mentioned that he couldn't focus on things like having a family because he gave priority to the business.

Lesson learned: Entrepreneurship is really a boat that you need to manage every day.

It’s fun, of course. 

Entrepreneurship is the best way to help people, because you solve problems with your offers.

But there’s also a downside to it.

It can be lonely and sad once your business is where you want it to be, and you become larger than life.

If you don’t have solid values and virtues, or if you lose them along the way, you get lost.

=====

“Culture is the most important thing you will ever design.”

This is another lesson that I learned from Brian Chesky, from the same The Diary of a CEO podcast interview. 

It’s important for him to create a good culture in his company.

I support his stand.

As a former division manager for a US conglomerate, culture was also the first thing that I established.

I was nervous at first because I knew that my predecessor had already established a working culture.

Additionally, every culture has people who have different backgrounds and behaviors.

I was not determined to change culture. My role - and I committed to it - was to continue, even enhance it.

I learned valuable lessons from both good and bad leaders during my previous jobs.

My human resources background also contributed a lot to my commitment.

In the first few weeks in my role, I made sure that I talked to every person in the company.

I asked where they live (we are all working remotely), what are their goals and aspirations.

I asked what can be done to improve the company.

I listened to every insight and concern.

From there, I strengthened the best parts of the company culture, while I established new ones.

I made sure that every person is heard.

Plus I also had an open-door policy, to which each team member can talk to me about anything.

Before I left, my colleagues expressed mixed emotions. They were sad to see me go, but also happy because they had the opportunity to work with a caring leader who valued every team member.

I never expected to create a good working environment for my former team. But I was happy to see that I did. 

I was proud of my dedication to designing and maintaining an awesome working culture.

Designing a good culture is never easy. But if done correctly, it will create a long-lasting effect in the company.

=====

After I finished listening to Brian Chesky, I chanced upon Gary Vaynerchuck’s videos.

Gary’s videos can be very long, even if it’s a simple a-day-in-a-life.

I decided to watch his video on the side while I was working.

He was having a meeting with a group of people.

One of my favorite insights from Gary that he mentioned to the group is about accountability. 

Lesson learned: accountability is a blessing.

It allows you to be open to other people that you need help with.

When you're accountable to someone, you provide them with support to help them reach their goal.

You also allow yourself to get help.

If you have been putting things off, having an accountability person will get you going. Or else, you won’t be able to give any update!

I have been partnering with friends and colleagues to hold each other accountable since I started working as a virtual social media manager.

I was able to achieve a lot - from my daily exercises to creating marketing funnels - because I was accountable to someone.

When you are accountable to someone, it's not scary if you can't give an update.

The scary part is you being uncommitted to do something for yourself.

It makes you feel that you are not responsible, even to yourself.

Having solid values, creating culture, and accountability. That’s just 3 of the hundreds of things that an entrepreneur has to think and implement.

And they say being an entrepreneur is easy.