1. Our job is not our identity. I played volleyball at a very high level growing up- for Nike, then USC and the U20 US National team. So did my sisters. The whole time, my dad would tell us "You are not a volleyball player. That is not your identity, it is something you do." His wisdom was lost on me but I listened. And it made my transition so much smoother than my teammates. I fell into that trap again the early years of TicketManager - thinking failure would define me b/c TicketManager was my identity. Avoid my mistake. And drop "what do you do" as an early question =)
2. The generic inbox is not a waste of time. For a salesperson, hearing "please email 'suppliers@acme.com' or the 'supplier portal' is a blow off…most of the time. Two of our earliest customers, both Fortune 50 companies, came from the generic inbox. One of which I had forgotten I filled out two years earlier. They signed on to become our biggest customer at the time.
3. Many great teammates genuinely care about others. It can expose a dangerous hiring flaw: They root for candidates. They're optimistic and want others to be successful. Unfortunately, great people can't save everyone. They have to focus on what drives the best results. A simple rule: if you find yourself rooting for a candidate, time to take a step back and ask: am I confident with the ball in their hands?
We are not our jobs and how identity can wreck havoc on founders - Respect the customer's process in sales - Never root for a candidate