A Journey Back to Authentic Leadership
Rejecting Corporate Hierarchies and Redefining Headless Companies
TL;DR
Podfly is committing to a new mandate that emphasizes a client-focused approach, avoiding traditional corporate processes and transitioning to employee ownership.
This shift reflects our values and a desire to return to a simpler, more authentic way of doing business. With a nod to our original, playful approach, we hope to maintain a genuine and collaborative work environment.
I co-founded Podfly in 2013 with a partner and friend. I was a Canadian expat living in Costa Rica, and he was an American in Alabama. We came from very different cultures but were united on many clear values. We believe in the freedom to do your best work from wherever, whenever, and however that suits you.
Equally important, we didn't like having (or want to be) a boss.
What we didn't realize was that we were to become pioneers in remote work management and building a headless organization.
What's in a name?
I appreciate that there are some requirements for naming people to roles for corporate structural reasons. However, we are an LLC registered in Alabama. Nobody there seemed to care what title goes with whom, and I liked that. Immediately, we could avoid the silly practice of naming ourselves Co-founder and CEO.
I used to play pretend with my niece. One of her favourite games was "Office." We'd set up telephones, computers, and coffee cups and take flack from the boss or gossip about someone in sales named Shirley. We didn't have titles because we knew it was only pretend.
For me, anointing oneself CEO of one's own small business is equally playing pretend. But I have to have some job title. Right?
So, I gave myself one of those Silicon Valley made-up, tongue-in-cheek titles:
Chief Expectations Manager
It got the chuckle and certainly lightened the mood of any introduction. But it was also very, very accurate.
My role has always been managing expectations and making decisions. Whether with clients, contractors, team members, or audiences, my job was to deliver information in a kind, clear, and timely fashion. That's what I do. How I do that sets the tone for honest work within fair parameters.
I printed business cards and updated my LinkedIn. Not finding C.E.M. in the dropdown menus or auto-complete was amusing to me. It was less so for banks, accountants, and lawyers; nevertheless, I enjoy it when titles are self-evident and the people we interact with feel more at ease.
Then, I started binging on Mad Men and reading Steve Pratt's blog.
Promoted (myself) to Creative Director
I had a Don Draper phase. Save for the womanizing, chain-smoking, and alcoholism, I wanted to be the guy in the room with the funky team and the big idea. Upon reflection, it was less aspirational and more a recognition that I was already that guy.
My decisions were becoming more focused on the company's creative output toward our brand and vision and how we build creative content for our clients. The title fit, and like anyone unqualified who owns the company, I promoted myself to Creative Director.
It was in the dropdown menus, and suddenly, people from other organizations weirdly just 'understood' what I do.
I also started reading blog posts from Pacific Content co-founder Steve Pratt. He's a marketing guy through and through. Their company solved marketing problems with podcasts. I thought that in a similar vein, we could be an advertising company of sorts. In branded podcasting (whatever that means), our shows are essentially long ads disguised as interviews and stories. We would solve advertising problems with podcasts.
I was wrong on both counts. I was not a creative director by any stretch of the imagination, and Podfly was certainly not an ad firm.
Mad Men was cancelled, and Pacific Content is closed.
Congratulations! You're (I’m) the new CEO.
You rail against something hard enough and eventually become that thing. Your parents, that crappy boss, and yep - the CEO of your own company. Somewhere, my niece is rolling her eyes and befriending Shirley from sales to gossip about how I didn't deserve the promotion.
I moved to Montreal full-time, opened a swanky downtown office, and stepped into an utterly made-up position.
This was a decision born of what felt like necessity. Our co-founder and CFO (yep, also made up) was stepping away from Podfly to leave me as the sole operator. This meant making all the decisions and managing every department. Well, that sounds like a Chief Executive Officer to me!
Again, a new headshot, a dropdown menu on LinkedIn, and surprising new spam and marketing emails from like-minded leaders flooded my peaceful valley.
I would go to client offices, and other C-Suite executives would have it arranged to meet me because… ‘Big-Deal C-Club.’ They would talk big picture, wax on about themselves, and prattle on almost anything but why I was there in the first place. We were having brunches in New York and discussing how the FiDi is the new Brooklyn. I flew business class. I would stay an extra day on business trips to visit the Vuori store. I brought my own coffee and Aeropress and paid way too much for luggage. I realized, standing in the First Class line in SEA, coming home from meetings with Amazon, something frightening.
I was a faux tech-bro media executive douchebag.
I'm handing in my resignation as CEO of Podfly.
To be clear, I wasn't behaving like an entitled snot. Kindness, clarity, and empathy have always been central to my work and relationships. I wasn't a jerk, but had you been standing in line behind me at that airport, you might have assumed that I was.
So, today, I quit.
We are making radical and earthy changes to our company.
Our mandate is:
50 great clients. No more, no less.
Budget first, proposal second.
No Decks, RFPs, SOWs, or Contracts - just great collaborations and work.
Employee-owned company - NOT FOR SALE.
We are accountable to our clients, not investors.
Kindness, professionalism. In that order.
There is no place for a CEO in this mandate. However, someone needs to make decisions and clearly communicate relevant information to relevant parties.
That’s me. I am the Chief Expectations Manager of Podfly.
Funny how things come full circle. And yes, I recognize this ‘demotion’ is again part of some elaborate game of pretend office. I only hope my niece and I can sit together again in the cafeteria.
If you dig this thinking, our team periodically pecks away on our Insights page at Podfly.net/insights.
Fun read Corey. My CEO title means Chief Energy Officer, given that's where I share my expertise, and that's about as CEO as I have the desire to be. LOL