“5 Things I Wish Someone Told me Before I Became a CEO” With Katie Cunningham of LYFETYMES

Always be learning. Even if you are hiring for a position that you won’t necessarily deal with, or not in your wheelhouse or the resident expert, learn enough to hold a conversation and ask the right questions because you are ultimately responsible or the outcome. Encourage solution based conversations with everyone, anyone can call out issues, but the culture must foster a solution-oriented environment where anyone can share ideas regardless of a title or perceived level in the company. You must have a “they put a man on the moon” approach, encourage creativity and recognize just because the team feels like they can’t do it, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Most importantly don’t ever confuse effort with results, I try to remind myself of this always with everything I do personally and professionally.