The Hard Truth: You Can’t Hold Yourself Accountable at the Level Required to Scale

_{This is the piece most founders don’t want to hear:}

Sometimes, public-company CEOs get fired.

Not because they’re incompetent—because they’re accountable.

Steve Jobs was fired from Apple. Elon Musk has faced real attempts to remove him (yes, boards absolutely can fire a CEO: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tesla-shareholders-vote-elon-musks-56-bln-pay-package-wsj-2024-06-13/).
It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are—if you miss, the board steps in.

That structural pressure forces performance.

But founders running private companies?
They answer to no one. And that’s exactly where the rot begins.

The Founder’s Trap: No One Can Call You Out

When you own the company, the list of people who can tell you the truth shrinks to zero.

No board.
No chair.
No quarterly review where your job is on the line.

You become your own judge, jury, and performance evaluator—and humans are notoriously bad at being objective about themselves. That’s when blind spots start multiplying:

• Standards slip—just a little at first.

• Decisions drag because no one is pushing the timeline.

• Strategy becomes reactive instead of deliberate.

• A-players leave because the CEO isn’t growing.

• B-players pile up because the CEO avoids hard calls.

This isn’t about intelligence. It’s about structure—and founders lack the pressure mechanism that keeps public-company CEOs sharp.

The Real Job of a Coach (It’s Not What You Think)

Most people think a coach provides:

• Advice

• Strategy

• Expertise

Sure. That matters. But it’s not the core value.

The real value of a coach is acting as your board.

When I work with a founder, I tell them:

“Imagine Warren Buffett just invested $100M in your business… and I’m his board representative.”

Because when you feel that level of accountability, everything snaps into focus:

• You stop tolerating mediocrity.

• You take your A-level priorities seriously.

• You execute instead of explaining.

• You think like a CEO—not a technician in the business.

• You finally make the moves you’ve avoided for years.

That’s not motivation.
That’s structural discipline.

The Sentence Every Founder Needs to Hear

One of the most valuable things I’ve ever told a client was:

“If I were your board member, I’d fire you.”

It’s not personal.
It’s clarity.

Because when you’re the CEO of your own company, no one else will tell you that. There’s no external force demanding excellence. And without that force, even the smartest leaders drift.

Growth requires friction.
Accountability creates friction.
And friction creates performance.

Why This Matters (Financially and Strategically)

A coach with real business experience—someone who has built and sold companies—doesn’t just help you grow.

They prevent the slow, invisible decline most founders never see until it’s too late.

When accountability goes missing:

• Revenue stalls

• Margins shrink

• Culture erodes

• Leaders stagnate

• Opportunity cost explodes

You can measure strategy.
You can measure execution.
But you can’t measure the price of a blind spot—until it’s already cost you a fortune.

That’s why the ROI of true accountability is massive.
It’s not theoretical. It’s structural.

The Hard Truth

If you’re the CEO of a small or mid-sized company and no one can fire you, your biggest risk isn’t competition or the market.

Your biggest risk is you.

Founders don’t need more information.
They don’t need another book.
They don’t need another conference.

They need someone who will tell them the truth at the level their business demands.

That’s what a real coach does.
And it’s why every CEO needs one.

📊 CEO ACCOUNTABILITY AUDIT 👇

If you want to know exactly where you’re slipping—and what a board would fire you for—I offer a short CEO Accountability Audit.
🔥Reply back “Audit” and I’ll send you the details.🔥

Doesn’t it feel like the year just started? It’s almost over. We must guard our most precious resource, our TIME.

Here are two tools, both free, that will help you manage your time much, much better.

1. Add 10 Hours to Your Week 📈

This is my Productivity Master Class — a system designed to help you master your calendar and protect your time like the CEO who you are. Clients have paid $3,000 to attend my workshops, but I’m giving you access for free.

👉 Get the Productivity Master Class 

And check out my Gratis CEO Course on the same site. Folks paid $1599 to attend this session. I got the rights to it from the producer so it’s yours.

Discover Your True Purpose & Mission 🌍✨

Would you like to discover your purpose and your mission on this planet?

Then you’re invited to something special:

The Purpose to Planet Challenge: A template for vision and impact for Change Agents.

How do you start Playing Your Biggest Game….and have the best life ever?

I’m offering 5 free 1-on-1 coaching sessions to 3 committed business owners per month who are ready to discover their deeper Purpose and Mission in the business world.

This isn’t a course or group program—this is you and me, working together for 5 focused sessions. Please fill out this short application so I can make sure we’re aligned. Serious applicants only.

All answers are kept strictly confidential.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E_yPYwuZVJMqw1wrcUq0fSysjqmhMt9pLOSi2JLu_8E/edit

I’m here to help founders and CEOs build businesses — and lives — rooted in purpose.

I’d love your feedback: reply with your thoughts, topics you’d like me to cover, or even the deeper questions you’ve been wrestling with about business and your greater mission on this planet.

And if you know someone who would benefit from this quick read, please feel free to share it with them.

Thanks,

Andrew

Spiritualbiz.org