Winning with weaknesses

👋 Hi all,

You’ve read the title; only sharing the wins without the lows is for losers. I feel that the companies (and their founders) who share more openly what they’re struggling with will eventually end on top and win.

I’ve lost almost 100 subscribers since last Monday, and I didn’t like it. I thought about giving up this newsletter for a second because 10k subscribers are unreachable, and then I remembered that I’m not a quitter.

So, today, I have a short essay and two of my favorite bookmarks from last weekend. Also, remember the guy behind the songs Angels, Feel, or RudeBox? He wasn’t that happy after all, and he inspired me for today’s essay.

See you on Friday,

Bas

I’m a sucker for documentaries, aren't we all? And the more personal the documentary, the better. I’ve watched documentaries about famous people and celebrities or YouTube episodes where founders were followed by a camera for months/years to share their struggles, successes, and behind-the-scenes footage. And this pattern of success and the hidden costs worries me.

After seeing the four-episode-long documentary Robbie Williams this weekend, I’m sure every successful personality struggled with self-doubt and thought opening up about this would destroy their career. Now, that’s some self-sabotage from the highest level. I highly recommend watching the documentary, where the Robbie of today looks back on his career without holding back on the complex parts; hats off to you, Mister Angel 🎶.

I see entrepreneurs doing the same, especially the older generations (40+). Sharing your weaknesses as a founder and, therefore, about the company will eventually create a winning strategy in the long term. It makes you human, and people (clients, employees, and applicants) will feel you’re more credible than others.

You don’t have to share all your flaws as a person with everyone all the time, for that matter; I’m referring to sharing the lows as equal to sharing your highs.

When the old mantra was to ‘Kill them with kindness,’ I think the future is ripe for ‘Winning with weaknesses.’