Listen "My Identity Was Crippling My Company | Will Pearson - Ocean Bottle"
Episode Synopsis
Not the kind of burnout you see coming - Will Pearson, Founder of Ocean Bottle.When you’re still performing, still hitting targets, but your identity has become so intertwined with your company that you can't see where you end and the business begins. This is the story of Will Pearson and how stepping down as CEO saved both his sanity and his relationship with the company he'd built from nothing. 🧠 What You'll Learn: ▪️ How to build a company that works around your lifestyle, not against it ▪️ Why prioritising happiness actually made Ocean Bottle more successful ▪️ Co-CEO structures often create exhaustion, not efficiency ▪️ Understand how to decouple your self-worth from company performance ▪️ Avoid the "everything depends on me" trap that destroys founders ▪️ Build a regenerative business model that gives back 15% of revenue to impact 📖 Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 00:28 - "I Intertwined My Identity With the Company" 01:02 - A CEO Shake up 04:12 - What Works in Co-CEO Leadership (and what doesn't) 09:45 - Co-Founder Coaching That Changed Everything 12:11 - The 5-Step Pearson Plan 14:08 - Crafting Business Around Lifestyle. Not the Other Way Around 17:09 - "We've Come So Far But We're Just Getting Started" 22:07 - "My Life Would Be Over" - The Toxic Early Mindset 23:49 - How Perspective and Meditation Changed Everything 25:10 - "Every Minute Should Be Work" - The Burnout Point 26:31 - The Happiness Advantage: Success vs Happiness 28:00 - Staying Grounded When the Rocket Ship Takes Off 30:35 - Decoupling Identity From Company Performance 31:23 - "What Are You Insecure About?" - Megs' Question 36:03 - Key Lessons From Board Member Peter Ward 38:00 - Ocean Bottle's Impact Model: 15% Revenue to Impact 40:34 - Building a Coalition of Impactful Companies 48:28 - Triple Bottom Line: Balancing Profit, People, and Planet 52:35 - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Open Communication 54:10 - Why People Join Mission-Driven Companies 56:09 - Reinventing Capitalism: Measuring Success by Good Done 🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too (Youtube): How 120 Seconds Changed My £7.6M Startup | Laura Fullerton 📧 Get exclusive insights, timeless frameworks & founder tools in my newsletter🔗 Will's Links: Ocean Bottle LinkedInInstagram🚀 Affiliates: Monk Ice BathFor a £100 discount on the world's first smart ice bath, visit - www.discovermonk.com/SCALEWITHSOUL Heights Supplements: 15% OFF from the world class, all-in-one brain and gut supplements with everything you need and nothing you don’t, head to - www.heights.com/scalewithsoul
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