Episode Highlights


[03:09] Scribe Media

• A lot of people needed scribes—people who put other people's thoughts into words.
  
  
• A woman asked Tucker if he could be her scribe to get a book out without the typical painstaking effort of writing a book.
  
  
• Scribe Media now has 260 employees and has done 737 books with almost a total of 200,000 reviews on Amazon.
  
  

[05:24] Hiring Someone Else to Be Scribe Media’s CEO

• Tucker kept hiring people who were better than him to do his job.
  
  
• Tucker eventually hired a professional CEO who made his business perform 20 times better than when Tucker was in the position.
  
  

[06:51] The Importance of Bringing In Experienced Leaders

• If someone is good at finding needs in the market and figuring out a way to satisfy those needs, then they’re probably not good at all of the other skills of running a business.
  
  
• Being an entrepreneur is the rarest thing right now.
  
  
• It’s easier to find people that can take established roles to scale the entrepreneur’s ideas.
  
  
• If you try and do everything, you’re going to do most things poorly.
  
  
• You'll be a lot more successful if you focus on the things you love and are good at.
  
  

[09:09] Tucker’s Annual Revenue Before Firing Himself

• Tucker’s company reached $1.5-2 million in their second year.
  
  
• He decided that he wasn’t the best person for the role anymore — he needed real, experienced leaders.
  
  

[10:22] Step One: You’re Not the Best Person for the Job

• It's challenging to let go of the position because your ego can get in the way.
  
  
• Tucker realized that he was suffering and wasn't enjoying how he spent his days.
  
  
• He valued his company’s mission more than his image, so he needed to get out of his position and hire someone else.
  
  

[18:27] Step Two: Understand Who You’re Looking For

• No one’s going to knock on your door and beg for the CEO position. You have to find that person.
  
  
• Tucker painted an attractive vision of Scribe Media. JeVon, the new CEO, wanted to be a part of that vision.
  
  
• Tucker offered JeVon the opportunity to be the head of Scribe Media and take the credit.
  
  
• Scribe Media was JeVon's lowest-paying opportunity, but he was working for more than just money.
  
  

[21:54] Evaluating Your New Hire 

• JeVon was first brought in as an advisor but soon started running meetings.
  
  
• Tucker tested JeVon’s honesty by taking appropriate opportunities to be vulnerable around JeVon and sharing personal sentiments, and seeing if he would be vulnerable in that situation as well.
  
  
• Traveling with someone can also help in getting to know them.
  
  

[24:22] What to Do to Find Another CEO

• Create an avatar CEO—think about what type of person you need to run the company.
  
  
• Then determine how you’re going to sell to that person.
  
  
• Prepare against the counterarguments to your sales pitch.
  
  

[27:29] Compensating Your New CEO

• JeVon was outperforming his contract, and the company was scared of losing him because he was still getting offers from other companies.
  
  
• Tucker always made sure to know what JeVon wanted.
  
  
• After a year and a half, they were able to figure out their final situation.
  
  
• They were open and honest about what they wanted and had an evolving conversation about it. 
  
  
• Business and personal are not separate.
  
  

[33:36] Vetting Your New CEO

• Tucker would not only evaluate the prospects in meetings but also in informal events such as dinners, drinks, and dancing,
  
  
• They also put the prospects in casual situations. The evaluation begins as soon as the new hire arrives at the airport.
  
  
• Make use of referrals/
  
  

[39:18] How Tucker’s Life Changed After Giving Up His Job

• Tucker is doing two new projects.
  
  
• One is a memoir program. The other is a new publishing arm.
  
  
• He’s becoming the best version of himself, and no one bothers him.