Are you willing to sprint for an unknown distance?

What do JP Morgan, Colgate Palmolive, Bank of America, and Birkenstock have in common?

Their age.

They are all over 200 years old - older than your grandfather’s grandmother would be if she were alive today.

A public company is its own legal entity, with its own heartbeat, soul, quirks, past, and future.

If you do your job right, then your company will outlive you.

To put it differently, your job doesn’t have an end date. There is no finish line, no project that you can take through to completion before you ride off into the sunset.

This could be the last job you ever have. So it’s time to think about what you want it to look like when you leave. Do you want it to be bigger or better? If so, then you have to get to work.

I know this isn’t easy. This job is 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, with very few days of reprieve. The market barely turns off, which means there is little rest for you and, crucially, the competitive nature of markets means that slowing down is not an option.

So how do you get through this?

To paraphrase the quote that was sent to me: are you willing to sprint when the distance is unknown?

I am not a listed CEO. I have no first-hand account of your daily experience.

I am a startup CEO, though, and know that that is hard enough - throw in a market that rewards or punishes my performance on a daily basis through trading? Ouch.

Yet still, you signed up for this.

Either you a) took your business public, or b) took the role in a public business. Either way, here you are.

It is tough, but let's try to ease the burden.

One question we ask at our community dinners is, “what advice would you give a first-time listed CEO?” We’ve had hundreds of responses to this question so far, and I’ve been compiling the responses. I’ve copied a few below that I think will help with your task of sustaining a sprint pace over the coming months, years, and (maybe) decades:

1. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint” is bullshit.
   Have you ever done a marathon? They go forever. Even the best in the business need 2 hours minimum to get it done.
   
   42km done at the world record pace of just over 2 hours is 20-21 km/hour - or 2:51mins per km - for 2 hours straight. The old adage, “it's a marathon not a sprint” is bullocks. The easiest way to test it out is to go to the gym, set the treadmill to 21 km/hour, and tell me if that feels like a marathon - or a sprint
   

2. Block out time to tune into the market.
   Looking at your stock price all day is not healthy. Neither is ignoring it.
   
   Instead of checking it all the time, set time aside each week to review your market performance. An hour a week to cover the following will give you the information you need, and you can spend the other hours on the week more effectively:

   1. What is the movement across the week?

   2. How is our volume - week on week, month on month, year on year?

   3. Noteable sellers - who has sold some and still has a decent position?

   4. Noteable buyers - who is new and looks interesting? Who amongst your existing shareholders deserves a call?

   5. Set actions, with a minimum of five investor contacts per week.
      

3. Outsource stock forums.
   You know the one I am talking about… it is a petri dish of uninformed stock spruikers with an undercurrent of usefulness.

   Ultimately, it comes down to balance. You reading it isn’t typically worthwhile, but getting someone to stay on top of it and highlight key aspects back is useful.

   Depending on your size this can be IR, marketing, a PA, or even an NED who needs more to do (don’t we all?). Get them to review and summarise any key points of misunderstanding, or areas that need attention - without you getting frustrated by the downrampers.