It take a big ego to run a big company, but most people aren’t fans of those with big egos. The solution? Keep your ego in check.
In an episode of the Passion & Pain podcast, they had David Senra on as a guest and David put it this way:
“I don’t think that you can build a great company without a giant ego. However, your ego should drive you, but should not be on public display.”
He was loosely quoting Walmart founder Sam Walton, who famously said:
“When we’re thinking small, that’s another thing we’re always on the lookout for: big egos. You don’t have to have a small ego to work here, but you’d better know how to make it look small, or you might wind up in trouble.”
Those with big egos will always be pushing hard, which is a great way to grow a large company. I tend to think my ego is fairly small, and that’s led to running a 9-person company after 15 years. Others have gotten much bigger, and some have completely flamed out from pushing too hard, and we’re quite pleased with the company we’ve built.
I agree with David that a big ego is likely necessary to build a big company, but the big ego can cause big problems if it’s not properly kept in check.
