It’s not your fault, but it’s your responsibility
This week, I heard a soundbite that really stuck with me:
It's not my fault. But it's my responsibility.
This is a perfect way to describe why being a CEO is so hard, especially in a tough market.
Most of us grow up learning that responsibility and culpability are highly correlated:
If you spilled the milk (culpability), you need to clean it up (responsibility)
If you want to get a dog (culpability) you’ll have to feed it and walk it (responsibility)
If you bring a treat to school (culpability) then you have to share with everyone (responsibility)
Psychologically, this pairing sticks with us into adulthood, making it feel uncomfortable and unfair when situations arise outside the formula:
You purchase a home without being told something about its structure is illegal (someone else is culpable), and the City of New York holds you responsible for the previous owner’s violation (you’re responsible)
Your colleague gets fired for cause (someone else is culpable) and you’re expected to work double as hard to make up their slack, while not getting compensated any extra (you’re responsible)
Your spouse cheats on you (someone else is culpable) but then you have to pay them alimony in the divorce (you’re responsible)
Ugh... Don’t these feel terrible?
Now let’s look at what it means to be a founder in a down market:
You’re actually getting better at selling, but your revenues are tanking because your customers are going bankrupt.
You’ve worked hard to become a great employer who pays people fairly. But unexpected delayed contracts mean you’ll either need to fire or furlough people next month.
You built an innovative software that customers love. But the platform it's used on just banned it because they’d rather build a similar tool and offer it as a feature instead.
You’ve had a healthy cash runway for years, but inflation has crunched your profits, eaten your reserves, and now you’re living invoice to invoice.
Here’s the thing: It isn’t your fault.
But it is your responsibility.
It can feel icky, unfair, unjust, and leave you feeling powerless and unmotivated.
But just because something isn’t your fault, doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do.
Don't let the feeling of “it isn’t my fault” be your excuse for throwing your hands up and letting go of everything you’ve worked for.
Take a deep breath, realize it sucks. Then get over whose fault it is - yours or the market or anyone else’s - and figure out what you’re going to do about it.
It will not be easy.
But you’re up for the challenge.
Because needing to struggle isn’t your fault.
But when you persevere and survive,
That will be.
Enjoy the weekend.
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