Leadership & Talent
I know exactly who's underperforming, but if I let them go, I'm the one covering their job myself tomorrow morning.
Everyone depends on you.
As the Chief Everything Officer,
who can you depend on?
Every big decision, every fire, every open question about where this business goes next still lands on your desk first. That's the job you signed up for. Is it still the job you want?
I know exactly who's underperforming, but if I let them go, I'm the one covering their job myself tomorrow morning.
I say yes to every job that comes through the door, because saying no feels like risking next week's payroll.
I keep telling myself I need to delegate, but when it really matters, I still take it back because I'm the one who knows how I want it done.
Half of how this runs still lives in my head — every time I step away, I find something else nobody else knew how to handle.
The bank balance looks fine today, and I still have no idea whether we actually made money on the job we just finished.
Our biggest customer just asked for a discount, and I know if they walked, the business goes down with them.
Someone's offered me a partnership that could change the business, and there's no one inside the company who can help me tell if it's an opportunity or a distraction.
I'm working eighty hours a week just to keep the lights on, and more than once I've wondered if this is even the life I meant to build.
Sound familiar? Where do you turn when you need advice on your challenges?
Family. Employees. Friends who ask how it's going. None of them wake up owning the fact that if this doesn't work, it's yours to fix.
Is there anyone who carries this the way you do? If this doesn't work, who else loses sleep over it tonight?
Being the only one who can make the call is exactly why you need people who've made it before.
This is where you work through your complicated decisions. In confidence. With seven other non-competing CEOs who understand what you've built and where you want to grow. They hold you accountable because you ask them to.
Your peers help you achieve your goals before you're ready to share them with your team and your customers.
You bring a real obstacle, decision, or opportunity — not a status update.
Seven peers question your assumptions, share what's worked for them, and widen the options in front of you.
You leave with a specific commitment to act — not a list of good ideas to think about later.
You execute the plan, adjust as it meets reality, and drive it toward a result in your business.
You bring the outcome to the next meeting — what happened, what changed, and what you learned.
The Specialist Advisory Forum convenes on a six-week cadence to bring targeted expert perspective to the board.
Is OCTET Right for You?
Everything starts with a conversation. Let's figure out together if Octet is a good fit for you and if you're a good fit for a group.
Membership is by invitation.
Becoming a better leader is the goal. Success is the reward.
Get notified about upcoming Brooklyn Advisors news, OCTET roundtables and events in Rochester and Buffalo before they're announced publicly.
Subscribe