Pessimistic Redemption

Is pessimism a requirement for the CEO role?

There are really three ways I talk about my business and I believe they are all valid and without conflict with one another. I believe in what we do – so I do all I can to motivate my team and keep on pushing them forward. I believe in our products and services and the feedback + growth are stronger and more positive than ever in the history of the company – so I tell the same to our potential customers and partners. Then there is that third component – the direction – which seems to be solely on my shoulders to conceptualize, design and help implement. And not a day goes by without me wondering just how much we suck and how many balls we drop. That is what drives me day to day, the hatred of everything we do wrong and packed notepads of planned enhancements and improvements. Every day I walk out of my office with one less problem on my shoulders. To me, that’s my purpose here, to keep on making things better so that everyone benefits from my team to our customers.

And with that, I am particularly disappointed with what I’ve done with Vladville in 2008 so far. Vladville, SMB Buddy, Shockey Monkey, SBS Show & Co all need a lot more TLC than I’ve given them and frankly so do you. So hopefully in the next few weeks, and for the rest of 2008, I will redeem myself a little.