Why I like learning from people who are better than me

1-minute summary

In this episode of his CEO diary, Christoph Standl talks about why he enjoys learning from people who are better at something than he is. Early on, entrepreneurs often believe they have to know and do as much as possible themselves – customers, products, sales, finance, staff. The longer he has been an entrepreneur, the clearer it has become to him: he cannot and does not have to be the best at everything. A good developer understands software better, a finance expert knows their field more deeply, a salesperson is stronger in sales, and a technician knows details he isn't even aware of. That is not a weakness but a chance to learn – from employees, customers, partners, or from young people who are deeply engaged with a new technology right now. With artificial intelligence in particular, everything moves so fast that nobody can know it all; so he wants to hear: What have you found out? Show me. As a company grows, the CEO cannot be the best developer, salesperson and finance expert at the same time – the goal is to bring together people who are really good in their fields, and then to listen to them. You might even recognise a good team by the fact that the CEO is no longer the best in the room in many areas. Leading also means asking the right questions, or saying: I don't know – explain it to me. Big changes often begin with small daily steps.