Orthotown December 2024 - 33

No celebrating, no resting on his laurels-just
a somber acknowledgment and a return to the
grind. Even before achieving this milestone,
Musk had more money than he could spend
in five lifetimes. It's apparent that one does
not become the richest man in the world just
because one wants to become the richest man
in the world. Something else was driving Musk
beyond his financial results.
This concept is best illustrated by a sigmoid
curve (Fig. 1). One starts out with a certain
level of working capital that begins to deplete
as expenses are incurred but revenue has yet
to catch up. During this phase, the new business
owner recognizes the stakes and seeks out
learning to reverse the negative profit trend. As
understanding improves, the business begins to
see some profit and the owner can breathe a sigh
of relief. Here lies the founder's trap: one begins
to think they have figured it all out and they lose
the drive for further learning. Still, momentum
remains and growth can continue as one reaches
the founder's trap.
One not only stops learning but begins to lose
their work ethic. In such a situation, we start to
assume we've " made it. " We're invincible and no
matter what we do, gold will always fall from the
sky. We start neglecting the more challenging
activities that got us here. If we don't change
this, we hit the final phase of our business cycle:
decline.
The common thread here is the complacency
that develops when we are motivated by results
that, once achieved, no longer motivate us to
act. Musk's superpower stems from his ability to
overcome this complacency and we can too.
Leadership
Leadership is about motivating people toward a
shared vision. This starts with identifying your
core values. Written values are the description of
our office identity. Why written? To make them
objective. This keeps not only your team but also
you, as the leader, accountable. Writing your
values down shows a commitment. Think of a
few role models and list why you admire these
individuals. Look for repeated traits among these
role models-these are the seeds of your core
values. Try including your team in this exercise
to create buy-in and authenticity.
Know yourself, know your team
What kind of leader are you? Inspirational?
Managerial? Democratic? Visionary? There are
as many different styles of leadership as there are
types of people. Knowing your style will decrease
frustration and allow you to hire compatible
employees. This is where I find value in the various
personality indices.
DISC is the simplest one, which sorts people
into four categories based on behavior. Because
of its ease of use and simplicity, it tends to be the
most used in business settings.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) goes
a step deeper by identifying 16 archetypes based
on our cognitive functions or how we process.
Finally, we have the Enneagram, which is the
most complex of the three. It focuses on the
motivations behind our behaviors and perceptions.
Additional resources include the Kolbe
Index (willpower) and the six types of working
genius (natural strengths). Using these tools can
Fig. 1: A sigmoid curve.
Sigmoid Curve
Midus Trap
I
Learning
Phase
II
Growth
Phase
Founder's Trap
III
Decline
Phase
DECEMBER 2024 | 33 | ORTHOTOWN.COM
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Orthotown December 2024

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