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Nov 1, 2023 · 20m · founders-journal

How Should You Spend Time As A CEO/Founder?

Sam Corcos · 12m spoken Alex Lieberman · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of Founder's Journal, host Alex Lieberman interviews Levels co-founder and CEO Sam Corcos to deconstruct his rigorous 15-minute time-tracking framework, executive delegation workflows, and dynamic leadership strategies. Corcos shares practical principles for maintaining broad technical competence, resolving operational bottlenecks, and taking proactive ownership of executive calendars.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Alex holds 35.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Alex as informed peer 3.2 Guest teaching 3.7 Guest disagreement 1.2 Alex pushing back 1.7
05100:0010:0020:001:24–4:57 · Alex as informed peer 4/10 Evolving CEO Responsibilities and Technical Competence Alex plays devil's advocate by asking why a CEO needs to be 80% competent across domains rather than delegating entirely to specialists. Sam explains that without baseline technical competence, founders cannot accurately assess talent or diagnose engineering bottlenecks.4:58–7:03 · Alex as informed peer 2/10 Uncovering Discrepancies Between Perceived and Actual Time Spent Alex asks about unexpected findings from Sam's time tracking data. Sam details the cognitive biases founders experience around high-friction tasks, noting that perceived time allocation rarely matches empirical calendar records.7:03–11:57 · Alex as informed peer 5/10 Origin and Personal Application of 15-Minute Time Tracking Alex cites Nir Eyal's book Indistractable to connect Sam's calendar-first system with value-aligned time blocking. Sam explains his transition from consulting billing to proactive calendar architecture supported by executive assistants.12:00–14:42 · Alex as informed peer 4/10 Deconstructing Core Categories: Networking and Asynchronous Communication Alex breaks down Sam's categorization data, prompting him to define networking and information processing. Sam clarifies how open-ended relationship building and asynchronous communication generate high downstream value without immediate deliverables.14:42–19:36 · Alex as informed peer 4/10 Flat Organizational Structures and Rapid Executive Unblocking Alex queries Sam on unblocking workflows and forward-looking prioritization. Sam references Nvidia's flat management structure and Bill Gates' think week practice to illustrate how executive decision velocity impacts company trajectory.19:37–20:18 · Alex as informed peer 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Listener Feedback Call-to-Action Alex delivers a solo outro thanking the guest, summarizing the core takeaway of proactive calendar control, and providing a listener call to action.1:24–4:57 · Guest teaching 5/10 Evolving CEO Responsibilities and Technical Competence Alex plays devil's advocate by asking why a CEO needs to be 80% competent across domains rather than delegating entirely to specialists. Sam explains that without baseline technical competence, founders cannot accurately assess talent or diagnose engineering bottlenecks.4:58–7:03 · Guest teaching 5/10 Uncovering Discrepancies Between Perceived and Actual Time Spent Alex asks about unexpected findings from Sam's time tracking data. Sam details the cognitive biases founders experience around high-friction tasks, noting that perceived time allocation rarely matches empirical calendar records.7:03–11:57 · Guest teaching 4/10 Origin and Personal Application of 15-Minute Time Tracking Alex cites Nir Eyal's book Indistractable to connect Sam's calendar-first system with value-aligned time blocking. Sam explains his transition from consulting billing to proactive calendar architecture supported by executive assistants.12:00–14:42 · Guest teaching 3/10 Deconstructing Core Categories: Networking and Asynchronous Communication Alex breaks down Sam's categorization data, prompting him to define networking and information processing. Sam clarifies how open-ended relationship building and asynchronous communication generate high downstream value without immediate deliverables.14:42–19:36 · Guest teaching 5/10 Flat Organizational Structures and Rapid Executive Unblocking Alex queries Sam on unblocking workflows and forward-looking prioritization. Sam references Nvidia's flat management structure and Bill Gates' think week practice to illustrate how executive decision velocity impacts company trajectory.19:37–20:18 · Guest teaching 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Listener Feedback Call-to-Action Alex delivers a solo outro thanking the guest, summarizing the core takeaway of proactive calendar control, and providing a listener call to action.1:24–4:57 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Evolving CEO Responsibilities and Technical Competence Alex plays devil's advocate by asking why a CEO needs to be 80% competent across domains rather than delegating entirely to specialists. Sam explains that without baseline technical competence, founders cannot accurately assess talent or diagnose engineering bottlenecks.4:58–7:03 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Uncovering Discrepancies Between Perceived and Actual Time Spent Alex asks about unexpected findings from Sam's time tracking data. Sam details the cognitive biases founders experience around high-friction tasks, noting that perceived time allocation rarely matches empirical calendar records.7:03–11:57 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Origin and Personal Application of 15-Minute Time Tracking Alex cites Nir Eyal's book Indistractable to connect Sam's calendar-first system with value-aligned time blocking. Sam explains his transition from consulting billing to proactive calendar architecture supported by executive assistants.12:00–14:42 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Deconstructing Core Categories: Networking and Asynchronous Communication Alex breaks down Sam's categorization data, prompting him to define networking and information processing. Sam clarifies how open-ended relationship building and asynchronous communication generate high downstream value without immediate deliverables.14:42–19:36 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Flat Organizational Structures and Rapid Executive Unblocking Alex queries Sam on unblocking workflows and forward-looking prioritization. Sam references Nvidia's flat management structure and Bill Gates' think week practice to illustrate how executive decision velocity impacts company trajectory.19:37–20:18 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Listener Feedback Call-to-Action Alex delivers a solo outro thanking the guest, summarizing the core takeaway of proactive calendar control, and providing a listener call to action.1:24–4:57 · Alex pushing back 4/10 Evolving CEO Responsibilities and Technical Competence Alex plays devil's advocate by asking why a CEO needs to be 80% competent across domains rather than delegating entirely to specialists. Sam explains that without baseline technical competence, founders cannot accurately assess talent or diagnose engineering bottlenecks.4:58–7:03 · Alex pushing back 1/10 Uncovering Discrepancies Between Perceived and Actual Time Spent Alex asks about unexpected findings from Sam's time tracking data. Sam details the cognitive biases founders experience around high-friction tasks, noting that perceived time allocation rarely matches empirical calendar records.7:03–11:57 · Alex pushing back 2/10 Origin and Personal Application of 15-Minute Time Tracking Alex cites Nir Eyal's book Indistractable to connect Sam's calendar-first system with value-aligned time blocking. Sam explains his transition from consulting billing to proactive calendar architecture supported by executive assistants.12:00–14:42 · Alex pushing back 1/10 Deconstructing Core Categories: Networking and Asynchronous Communication Alex breaks down Sam's categorization data, prompting him to define networking and information processing. Sam clarifies how open-ended relationship building and asynchronous communication generate high downstream value without immediate deliverables.14:42–19:36 · Alex pushing back 2/10 Flat Organizational Structures and Rapid Executive Unblocking Alex queries Sam on unblocking workflows and forward-looking prioritization. Sam references Nvidia's flat management structure and Bill Gates' think week practice to illustrate how executive decision velocity impacts company trajectory.19:37–20:18 · Alex pushing back 0/10 Episode Conclusion and Listener Feedback Call-to-Action Alex delivers a solo outro thanking the guest, summarizing the core takeaway of proactive calendar control, and providing a listener call to action.

speaking balance: gold is Alex, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Alex 72% · guest 28%0:00 · Alex 72% · guest 28%3:00 · Alex 27.4% · guest 72.6%3:00 · Alex 27.4% · guest 72.6%6:00 · Alex 22.6% · guest 77.4%6:00 · Alex 22.6% · guest 77.4%9:00 · Alex 21.8% · guest 78.2%9:00 · Alex 21.8% · guest 78.2%12:00 · Alex 40.5% · guest 59.5%12:00 · Alex 40.5% · guest 59.5%15:00 · Alex 32.6% · guest 67.4%15:00 · Alex 32.6% · guest 67.4%18:00 · Alex 30.6% · guest 69.4%18:00 · Alex 30.6% · guest 69.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 4:08 Critique of non-technical software CEOs

Sam rejects the conventional assumption that leadership can be outsourced entirely to hired executives, arguing that non-technical CEOs who criticize engineering velocity are operating from ignorance.

 Hardest push from Alex ▶ 3:41 Challenging the 80% rule on founder skills

Alex challenges Sam's claim that CEOs must be 80% proficient in everything, asking why hiring elite functional leaders wouldn't eliminate the need for generalist mastery.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:22 Perception vs reality in executive time

Sam explains how founders confuse emotional friction with actual time expenditure, proving empirically that activities like recruiting and strategy occupied far less calendar time than assumed.

 Alex holds their own ▶ 10:49 Synthesizing calendar blocking with Indistractable

Alex demonstrates domain knowledge by mapping Sam's operational tactics onto Nir Eyal's time-blocking methodology and explaining the cognitive pitfalls of standard to-do lists.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicAlex as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementAlex pushing backWhy
Evolving CEO Responsibilities and Technical Competence 4524 Alex plays devil's advocate by asking why a CEO needs to be 80% competent across domains rather than delegating entirely to specialists. Sam explains that without baseline technical competence, founders cannot accurately assess talent or diagnose engineering bottlenecks.
Uncovering Discrepancies Between Perceived and Actual Time Spent 2511 Alex asks about unexpected findings from Sam's time tracking data. Sam details the cognitive biases founders experience around high-friction tasks, noting that perceived time allocation rarely matches empirical calendar records.
Origin and Personal Application of 15-Minute Time Tracking 5412 Alex cites Nir Eyal's book Indistractable to connect Sam's calendar-first system with value-aligned time blocking. Sam explains his transition from consulting billing to proactive calendar architecture supported by executive assistants.
Deconstructing Core Categories: Networking and Asynchronous Communication 4311 Alex breaks down Sam's categorization data, prompting him to define networking and information processing. Sam clarifies how open-ended relationship building and asynchronous communication generate high downstream value without immediate deliverables.
Flat Organizational Structures and Rapid Executive Unblocking 4522 Alex queries Sam on unblocking workflows and forward-looking prioritization. Sam references Nvidia's flat management structure and Bill Gates' think week practice to illustrate how executive decision velocity impacts company trajectory.
Episode Conclusion and Listener Feedback Call-to-Action 0000 Alex delivers a solo outro thanking the guest, summarizing the core takeaway of proactive calendar control, and providing a listener call to action.

Statements from this episode (12)

Insight
Corcos: Software product quality deteriorates when leadership is detached from building
“I think when you have a software product, I think having leadership who knows how to build software is really important, and the further away you get from the actual building of what it is that your product is the worse your product is ultimately going to be.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 2:41
Insight
Corcos: Co-founder CEOs must be 80% good at almost every business function
“And so I think the nature of being a co-founder CEO is you have to be 80% good at basically everything. It's kind of a strange role. You have to be able to write a passable growth strategy and a passable clinical strategy and a clinical, you have to be able to…”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 3:11
Insight
Founders cannot evaluate executives without knowing how to do their jobs
“Your ability to assess and know whether they are the right people, if you're willing to put that to luck, then sure, you can just hope that you hired the right person, and you have no way of assessing the quality of their work output. If you can write a strate…”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 4:08
Insight
Corcos: Time allocation is the true empirical record of your priorities
“How you spend your time is the empirical record of your priorities. You can wave your hands and say that you have a set of priorities, but what you spent your time on is the record of your priorities.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 6:44
Disclosure
Sam Corcos tracks time spent with his wife on his calendar
“I keep track of how much time I spend with my wife, and some people find it weird that I have that in my calendar, but it is a real priority for me to know that I'm spending an appropriate amount of time”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 7:52
Insight
Founders should eliminate to-do lists and schedule tasks directly on calendars
“The biggest thing to do is to get rid of your to-do list and put all of your action items on your calendar. Block off the amount of time that you think it's going to take. You have a to-do list. Everyone has a list of things that they want to do, and just tran…”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 8:50
Insight
Founders should delegate tasks they dislike to avoid executing them unreliably
“Really, if you don't like doing a certain thing, like writing investor updates, it means that you should probably have somebody else do it because clearly you're not a reliable person on this specific type of task.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 9:44
Insight
Corcos: Time tracking should be limited to approximately 10 high-level categories
“I try to limit it to about 10 buckets. You can always get more granular But at a certain point, it's not useful.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 11:27
Assertion Supported
Corcos: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang manages roughly 40 direct reports
“He has something like 40 direct reports, which is crazy, but he does it in such a way that it's not super burdensome, and the intent behind it, from what I understand, is that the closer you get to the ultimate decision maker, the faster decisions get made.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 15:33
Disclosure
Corcos: Levels is shifting product strategy and go-to-market within software
“Right now, most of our major priorities are ultimately within the software org on changing our go to market, shifting our core product strategy. And so a lot more of my time is going towards that.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 17:21
Disclosure
Corcos: Levels is probably six months away from active fundraising
“Fundraising is probably still six months away from that being a real push, so I don't need to prioritize that.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 17:43
Disclosure
Sam Corcos blocks off quarterly 'think weeks' disconnected from all communications
“I block off one week per quarter. I just directly stole this from Bill Gates to do a think week where I don't engage in email. I don't engage in comms. I just focus on thinking about strategy, and it often takes me two or three days to see the forest.”
Sam Corcos Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 18:39
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