I’ve been running with a good friend twice a week, an easy 5k.

He can’t do more than that. Every time we run, once the clock hits 5k, he stops.

He needs to run 10k in mid-November for a charity race. But this week, he bought new pants. They have a cellphone pocket. He couldn’t see or hear the app, and he ended up running 6k, with each kilometer 30 seconds faster than his usual pace.

It’s all in your head. Once you let go, dreams become reality.

In today’s Storyletter:
• Let go of your brand/ego
• Life Update – Building in Public
• Fun Stuff – Weekend Vibes

Key learning

The hardest thing for founders is often overlooked until it’s too late: their ego. But a strong brand can help manage this.

Last week I ran into three cases of entrepreneur ego.

When the CEO of a major real estate company explained his thoughts on scaling, I asked how much his ego was getting in the way. He paused for a few seconds and then said, “S**t, you’re right. But how can we fix it?”

When an international company wanted to sell more, the founder kept doing things his way, which left the team feeling inadequate. They didn’t know how to please him. While he was all over the place, his team just wanted structure.

Owners often believe that marketing works for them, instead of realizing they work for their marketing. The core issue in all these stories is simple: brand vs ego.

A strong brand is often the best way to manage a CEO’s ego. It is the only structure that can challenge an owner’s decisions and keep the company moving in the right direction. A brand makes growth faster, more consistent, and more sustainable.

Once a brand has more than two people, decision-making should shift from founder-led to brand-led. But to make that happen, two things need to be in place:

1. A strong brand must be created and maintained. That means a clear brand character.

2. The entrepreneur must step back and allow the brand to lead.

Working with companies of 50 to 300 employees, I often start by helping founders let go of their ego. They need to understand why the brand should drive decisions, how this connects to marketing and sales, and why the customer journey requires consistency.

Most people agree on the need for a strong brand character, but they struggle to get there. So let me offer a different way of looking at it. What if the CEO was treated as just another marketing channel?

This shift means the brand becomes the professional master, and the owner takes on a supporting role. Instead of selling, the owner becomes a teacher who helps the audience learn, understand, and eventually decide they need the company’s services.

This separation can be done gradually. Different types of content can position the owner as a guest in the brand’s story. Depending on the brand, service, or market, you can decide if the owner should be more accessible or more distant.

The key is not to control the brand but to help it thrive. Become the owner, not the salesperson. Be the go-to expert, not just the face of the company.

Define your strengths and weaknesses. Understand what helps your team and your brand. Find ways to prevent your weaknesses from hurting the day-to-day work.

Plan where the brand is going in the next 12 months. Decide which calls you need to make and which ones should be made by the team on behalf of the brand.

At the end of the day, you want to help the brand succeed, and if done correctly, it will help you succeed.

Building in public

A client took me out for lunch this week to celebrate. A 70-word blurb we worked on brought them over 90 leads. Seventy-one have already replied or booked a second meeting. All this happened in just one week, during a speaking tour in the U.S.

I’m enjoying my work, seeing the potential, meeting new clients, and feeling optimistic about the future. Next week the Storyletter will be written from South Africa, and I’m happy to share that I’ll be touring Europe for a few weeks in October.

If you’re in Berlin, Amsterdam, London, or Paris, let’s catch up and explore hosting something together.

I’ve just wrapped up the first episode of my new talk show and I’m working on the next one. I love the concept. If you’d like to help and be on the show, let me know, I’d love to host some of you.

And here’s a big announcement. On October 3rd in Amsterdam, we’ll have the first licensee session confirmed. Robert will be leading my workshop for the very first time. I’ll be in the audience, and later that day I’ll run another session to see the differences. Exciting times ahead.

This past year has been such a journey. From lost to found, from lonely to proud together. From the highest peak in the world to lakes and all the way down under. I’m happy and thankful to have you with me on this journey.

Just for Fun

Relax, click the links and have fun

🎧 Music
This week’s newsletter was created while listening to Underworld at the Boiler Room.
Watch here

🎬 Two Brothers, One Restaurant, and a Huge Debt
Looks like an epic new show, and personally, I always enjoy Jason Bateman.
Watch the trailer

🍿 25 Facts About Outdated Technology
I love these kinds of videos. Always something to think about.
Read here

Resources

📺 How to win the SEO game and AI search in 2025 - Full episode here

💡 The Business Storytelling Guide - A complete guide on how to implement storytelling to improve your business quickly. Available here 

📕 My Amazon best-selling book F*ck The Slides - How to Create a Winning Pitch. Available here: Kindle/Print/Audio

📺 My YOUTUBE Channel: Interviews, tips and some fun content Available here