Names, execution, and something bigger than ourselves
a few thoughts and a few questions
I’ve been painting a lot lately. Instead of with brushes, I’ve been learning how to paint with palette knives and pendulums.
Above: a recent pendulum painting I completed after turning our entire driveway into a studio backdrop. Inspired by Cole Newman techniques.
While painting, I’m usually searching for clarity on various subjects. I now have clarity on a few more subjects and wanted to share.
1. Your name within your company name may be worth considering.
We changed Nebullam to Clayton Farms 1 year ago. While I was originally uncomfortable with the thought that my name would be the company’s name, it’s been positive both for the company and myself.
People buy from people. Me as Chief Farmer is better than me as CEO, to 100% of customers.
The eternal optimist in me has always felt like this is going to work. Now it must work.
Have you ever experienced a shift to a “it must work” state of mind?
2. The pace of execution is uncomfortable for most people.
While interviewing manager candidates for our first drive-thru, I’d mention that we were launching March 31, just 6 weeks after receiving keys to the location. The first 2 candidates, who both had decades of experience in the restaurant space, told me it was impossible.
Some customers, team members, partners, and investors felt the same way.
There was hurdle after hurdle thrown at us. We were literally told we couldn’t open March 31 by people who, by societal standards, have more authority than us.
But we opened March 31.
The pace of our execution and the chaos it brings with it is comfortable to me. 4 years of therapy has confirmed that my autistic self sees many things in black and white with no in between. While I suffer the consequences elsewhere, it’s a superpower for building a company because time is the enemy.
Is anyone teaching this in their entrepreneurship classes? That execution is everything?
PS if you’re wondering about a case study, Twitter/X—mostly because Elon builds in public—is a good example of a company executing at a pace that’s uncomfortable for most people.
3. A company’s mission should outgrow you and everyone you know.
It’s easy for me to say that because I’m on the visionary side of founder. Everyone who works for and with me must see that the mission is bigger than all of us.
Everyone reading this post has been a customer of Walmart. It’s entirely reshaped the world we live in over its 6 decades of existence. It’s still fulfilling the first half of its mission of saving people money. The second half, “so they can live better,” is up for debate.
Clayton Farms will outlive me. As it stays true to its mission of providing people with the food they deserve, we’ll have improved the health—and therefore time—of hundreds of millions of people.
This thought helps make my leadership decisions easier.