Insight certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

CEOs should bring plans, not open problems, to board meetings

Scott Dietzen · 20VC: 3 Biggest Mistakes Founders Make When Scaling, Management 101 on Trust Building, Morale Maintenance and Hiring & What We Can Learn About Parenting From Nature Programs with Scott Dietzen · Feb 28, 2022 · at 24:18

Scott Dietzen, former CEO of Pure Storage, offers governance advice on how founders should present strategy and challenges to their boards.

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“If you're a founder CEO, your job is to propose a path and then Rely on the board to help you course correct. So one side of the error is not coming in with a plan. Got a problem. If you're going to propose it to the board, you know, you're going to get a plan out of it. You're better off going in with a plan and letting the board course correct.”

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