Dave Kashen tells how a CEO's board member kept canceling their one-on-ones. When she asked why, he said he respected her too much and trusted her to manage alone. The story shows why you shouldn't believe the negative stories you invent about others.
Okay, here's a story about a billion-dollar startup you may be interested in. One of my clients had a monthly one-on-one meeting with her board member scheduled, and month after month he would cancel on her. She started to believe he didn't respect her time. He didn't think she was good and wasn't worth meeting with. And I challenged her to share the story that she was telling herself with her board member. And she worked up the courage and did. And he started laughing as soon as she told him that. He's like, oh my God, you are the number one CEO in my portfolio. I totally respect you. I think you're amazing. That's why I feel like I can cancel my meetings with you. All the other CEOs in my portfolio, I better make sure to show up because they need my support. Whereas you, I think you've got it all handled. So moral of the story is don't believe the stories that your mind makes up. Most of the time, the literal opposite of your story is just as true as your initial story.
