Providing Executive Education at HBS

With fall semester in full swing for students across the nation, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that while earning a degree is important, education does not end with graduation. Every successful business leader I know is constantly looking for ways to up their game. They read books, attend conferences, listen to podcasts, and almost never utter the phrase Well that is how we have always done it so there is no need to change. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you have to put in work that most people are unwilling to do. You have to continue your education. 

Last week, I was honored to be brought in to speak at Harvard Business School. I spoke for over an hour about the success we enjoyed at Byte. My audience was 150 of the world’s top CEOs, and 43% of the audience was international. It was an incredible experience. It was inspiring to be in front of so many people looking to learn, and humbling to realize that they were looking to me for education!

The thing is, what we did at Byte was not radical. We used a financial model that focused on unit economics and prioritized profitability above all else. Too many new companies try to do something wild to gain attention. Social media loves a marketing gimmick, but gimmicks rarely generate revenue. At Byte, we only participated in marketing that we knew would lead directly back to sales. Our secret was selling a product that people wanted at a price they were willing to pay. If it sounds simple, that’s because it is. The fundamentals of business are usually simple, but more often than not people conflate simplicity with ease. 

Once you understand the basic principles of running a successful business, the hard part is sitting down to actually do it. If running a successful business were easy, everyone would do it. So if you want to be successful, you have to understand business principles, and stick to them with more energy and zeal than anyone else. There will be moments of self-doubt, along with sleepless nights and a tremendous amount of pressure, but if you can live by your model you will achieve success. 

I had a blast walking through the Byte case study at HBS, and I hope the audience found it valuable. I will leave you with my most well-worn bit of wisdom: hard work is not optional. Study foundational principles, apply them, and then run faster than everybody else. I will see you at the finish line.