Motorboat Leadership vs. Sailboat Leadership

[00:00:00] Intro – Jesse hints at a personal and professional transition
[00:00:27] Jesse’s life update – spiritual journey and post-Japan reflection
[00:01:30] The Motorboat vs Sailboat leadership metaphor explained
[00:02:51] Internal conflict: fear of letting go and team dependency
[00:04:03] Overwhelm from managing multiple businesses – “a company per day” schedule
[00:04:48] Inspiration from a friend who only talks to CEOs – true sailboat mode
[00:05:24] Every leader needs both motorboat and sailboat energy
[00:06:09] Andrew’s emotional reaction to Jesse pulling back from involvement
[00:07:12] Jesse’s evolving role – from fractional president to clearing Slack overload
[00:08:15] What Jesse wants to focus on – coaching vs tactical work
[00:09:18] “Mommy-daddy” problem in leadership dynamics at GA
[00:10:03] Is Jesse not accepting who he’s becoming?
[00:10:39] Jesse reflects on the hard realities of running vs starting a business
[00:11:06] What Jesse means by “spiritual journey” – internal clarity and awareness
[00:13:03] Who are we, really? Jesse and Andrew dig into identity beyond thoughts and the brain
[00:15:27] Oneness, awareness, and spirituality as a form of leadership grounding
[00:18:09] Life as a game – avoiding suffering over Monopoly money
[00:19:48] How spiritual growth translates into business decision-making
[00:20:33] Trusting energy and intuition over rigorous logic
[00:21:36] Jesse clarifies: it was always about coaching and enabling others
[00:23:15] Why being a coach’s coach still leads to high standards and performance
[00:24:00] How Jesse arrived at this realization: stripping away attachments (e.g., to money)
[00:25:57] Embracing spaciousness and presence over busyness
[00:27:18] What sailboat leadership looks like in practice
[00:28:39] Letting go of calendar-driven validation – the need for quality over quantity
[00:29:42] Andrew tests the sailboat approach – does less structure work?
[00:30:27] Jesse: “You're still in motorboat mode” – rethinking performance metrics
[00:31:12] Sailboat success story: Growth Assistant took the least time, performed the best
[00:32:33] More involvement ≠ more success – Bootstrap Giants vs Growth Assistant
[00:33:00] Jesse still applies “more is more” at home, even if not always leading
[00:34:03] “I need a software update” – Jesse wants to rewrite his operating model
[00:35:06] Build the person in public – mirroring business transparency with personal evolution
[00:36:18] Jesse constantly experiments and iterates – calendar overhaul as an example
[00:37:30] “Here's my latest experiment” – documenting leadership evolution in real time
[00:38:06] Noticing energy loss and making adjustments is key
[00:39:00] Trusting that pulling back may help the business more than staying involved
[00:39:45] Sailboat experiment with John Oberlander – abdication or setup?
[00:40:21] Will Jesse write more about this evolution? Probably – he’s thinking it through
[00:40:48] Andrew reflects on how Jesse’s fear prompts clarity in others
[00:40:57] Outro – Honest vulnerability, evolving leadership, and thanks