I was introduced to “The Great CEO Within” while reading the October 2022 issue in FAST Company magazine. The author, Matt Mochary, was the subject of an article in which the headline dubbed him “Silicon Valley’s most indispensable CEO coach.” I was intrigued, and by the time I was done reading the article I was extremely impressed and inspired. I wanted to learn more about the Mochary Method – the system of coaching Matt Mochary used with some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent and productive CEOs. When I read that Mochary had distilled the essential components of his method into a book, “The Great CEO Within: The Tactical Guide to Company Building”, I asked a family member to send it to me and I anxiously awaited its arrival. When the book arrived, I went straight away to consuming it with the expectation that I would gain insight into some highly coveted strategies and systems to improve myself and better harness my potential as a coach, manager and chief executive. The book did not disappoint.
If I were to summarize in a single sentence what I learned reading “The Great CEO Within”, I would say I learned how to be a more effective CEO. At the moment, I’m the CEO of life and my future. The book provided a checklist of best practice benchmarks that can be used to rate my company’s (or department’s) performance as an organization and my individual performance. One section of the book addressed “individual habits” that are crucial to being effective within a company or organization. Some of these habits include focusing on your top goal, expressing gratitude and appreciation, doing energy audits, and taking care of your health and well-being. In the section on “Infrastructure” I learned tools that can be used to facilitate company effectiveness such as a goal tracking system and key performance indicators. The section on “Processes” taught me the systems that should be used to manage and maintain each major function of a well-run company such as fundraising, recruiting, sales and marketing. Each section of the book provided a comprehensive overview of the best practices and processes that enable the most efficient and effective operation of a company, thus providing me an education on how to be a more effective CEO.
My last role as a CEO was unceremoniously ended by my poor decisions which led to an investigation, indictment, and criminal conviction culminated in me being handed a 160-month prison sentence. Of necessity, I must perform much better given another opportunity. My decisions and actions must be guided by sound principles and best practices in any future position I attain. In addition to needing to add or create an extraordinary amount of value in order to meet the obligations of my restitution and deliver on the promises and commitments I’ve made, I aspire to make a significant contribution to the building of innovative companies that have a tremendous positive impact on society. The education I obtained from reading and studying “The Great CEO Within” will most assuredly serve me in all my future endeavors and any role as a coach, consultant, manager or executive, and especially as a CEO.
