Neil Cawse
Founder and CEO of Geotab. Built to $1B+ revenue without outside capital.
I’m not sorry for ruthless transparency.
Being honest is not the same as being cruel. It means being straight with people early, while there is still time to help them get better. If someone is doing the wrong thing and you avoid the uncomfortable conversation, you are not protecting them. You are letting the problem grow until it becomes much harder to fix.
Three winning principles
01
Do the right thing for the long run.
Never compromise on what matters long term: your customers, your people, your family, your health, or your technology. Do not take the quick buck. Do not take the shortcut. Build for the long run as much as you can.
02
Check your ego at the door.
The worst, most powerful evil is to believe that you are somehow special, that you’re always right, or that you can’t be questioned. The more successful you become, the easier it is to fall into this trap. The more successful Geotab becomes, and the bigger we grow, the more important it is for me to keep reminding myself of this point. Surround yourself with people who can tell you the truth, and listen when they do.
03
Measure, reflect, and improve.
You cannot manage what you do not measure. Build feedback loops into everything: your work, your company, your relationships, your health. Look at what is happening, understand it, change the input, and measure again.
One thing to takeaway
Take more smart risks. If I can do this, I promise you can too. If you have ever thought about starting a company or doing something unique, now is the time. Seize the moment. Go do it, and I promise you, you and the world will be a better place because of it.
Neil is the Founder and CEO of Geotab, a company he started in 2000 and built into a global powerhouse with over $1B in revenue. An electrical engineer by training (University of the Witwatersrand), Neil grew the business for two decades without outside funding, transforming it into an industry leader that now serves customers on every continent.