Name: Josh Norris

Title: Founder & CEO

Organisation: Josh Norris Consulting

It's hard to believe this spring will be 14 years working in tech. I started with my own startup, made my way through product management and CS, and ended up in sales. Now, I help early stage founders build their first GTM motions. In my spare time, I read fiction, paint, and travel the world. I lived and worked as a digital nomad through all of 2022.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Josh's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

The most challenging part for me has been decisively saying "no" to protect my time. For example, this past November after I announced my new fractional consulting business, two friends approached me separately me about consulting together on different things. They both had good business plans, and it would have been fun to work together. So, I said yes. I should keep my options open, right?

Well, both friends had full-time jobs as their main focus, and I had my business to build. After a few weeks, my friends ended up pulling out of the new ventures. In hindsight, I should have kept my focus on my business. Especially while it was so new. Going forward, I keep a short, written list of priorities. If a request for my time doesn't fit within my priorities, the answer is a fast and decisive "no, thank you."

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I became a leader accidentally, and early.

I had a startup while I was in school, back in 2010. I had my vision, found advisors, scoped out the software, got a little funding, and then realized..."Wait a minute, I need to hire people to build this thing." By the end of it, I had a small team spanning Vietnam, India, Poland, and Austin, TX.

After that project wound down, I got a job managing a team of 3-dozen engineers for a SaaS co

pany as we prepared for IPO. My team did custom configurations for enterprise customers. Not bad for my first corporate job.

Since then, I've started three other businesses and a number of online communities, held other full-time roles, and led two small sales teams.

But it all started with the same thing that motivates me today: Wanting to transform my ideas into reality.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I wake up everyday at 5am... No, I'm joking. I'm going to reframe this and start at going to sleep, because going to sleep at the same time every night is proven to increase alertness, energy, and focus during the day more than anything else. I go to sleep every night around 10:30pm. No exceptions. I set an alarm to wake up at 8am. I rarely schedule early calls, but I'll bump the alarm earlier if I need to.

Most mornings, I wake up naturally between 7-8am. This feels so much better than jarring awake to an alarm, and I can only do it because I go to sleep at the same time every night. On average, my body wants 8-8.5 hours of sleep. The first two things I do every morning are drink a large glass of water, and go for a walk outside with my partner. Gotta rehydrate, and getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning is proven to raise your energy levels all day.

Then on most days, we make breakfast together. High protein, some healthy fats, and low carbs. This minimizes early insulin spikes, which prevents afternoon drowziness. Some days, we fast until later. I consume caffeine maybe once a month. If I do, it's at least 2.5 hours after waking. This also prevents crashing. Last in my morning routine is showering, etc. By the time I start work, it's 8-9am. The time varies daily.

Jeff Bezos' approach of scheduling "high IQ tasks" in the morning is spot on for me. I'm sharpest before lunch, so that's usually when I schedule client calls. One of the first things I learned from working remotely is that I will forget to eat if I'm not careful. I don't schedule lunch at a particular time, though. Client calls move around too much for that. I don't mind eating at different times.

A second walk in the middle of the day is nice. That time usually varies too. The afternoons are usually for deep work on client deliverables. I start slowing down around 4pm. It's not unusual for me to work until 9pm on some days, though. The evenings are for projects promoting my business, LinkedIn stuff, and strategy / thinking ahead. I run a business, and I work with founders; it's not unusual to be calling or texting clients after dark.

However, I am mindful of how much I work. I take frequent breaks, and I block whole days off when needed. One of the perks of working for myself! In the end, I'd say I work more than average, but it feels like an appropriate amount to me. I love what I do, and I have a healthy balance outside of work too.

By 10:30pm, I'm in bed reading, journaling, and dozing off. Most of this routine is backed by research in nutrition and neuroscience. It's how my circadian rhythm and metabolism like to work. I recommend taking elements that sound useful to you, and reading the scientific literature related to these topics.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

Oh boy. Early in 2023 a mentor and dear friend taught me this one, and I've been reminded of it many times since. "Sometimes it's best to stay silent. The people who matter will get your message." And thank goodness he taught me that. It was just in time. Basically, it's a reminder that you may be right, but you don't always have to say it out loud. Especially publicly. Silence sends a message, and in time, the truth will come out on its own. I've watched this prove true many times this past year.

It reminds me of another lesson that a friend shared with me many years ago, when I was running a large online gaming community. (I won worldwide gaming tournaments throughout my 20s. I also built and ran communities and worked closely with the devs.) "Don't argue with an idiot on the internet. From a distance, others can't tell who is who." A poignant and timeless lesson in avoiding drama and letting the truth come out on its own. Because the truth always comes out.

I believe that leaders shouldn't concern themselves too much with the opinions of others. Leaders should keep their eyes on their goals, and the goals of their organizations. I try to be a force of focus and positivity for the people who rely on me and choose to work with me. I always have a vision. I do my best to see it clearly, attract others who share it, and galvanize the group around the common goal. And I'm so, so grateful for my mentors and friends who have reminded me to stay on that path :)

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

A leader can't lead without a clear vision of their own path forward. And sometimes we end up on a path that isn't right for us. I'll give you a short fiction novel that profoundly impacted how I view the world.

Check out "A Psalm for the Wild-Built" by Becky Chambers. It's a fast, inspiring story about overcoming uncertainty and finding one's path in life. One of my favorite books of all time.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Always keep an accurate assessment of yourself. This means recognizing that everyone has something to teach you. Always be open to learning; don't let your ego get bigger than your impact. But it also means not underselling yourself or being overly humble. You can (and should) sell yourself and take credit where it's due. Strike the appropriate balance, and you'll always be growing.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

Oh goodness, there are so many stories. I tear up thinking about this one. It's summed up in a quote from Andy Vo, my Director as I departed a past job. He said this in reference to work I did during the 2020-2021 covid lockdowns.

"Josh, it has been an absolute pleasure working with you. You helped keep people employed and that's not an exaggeration. The sales process revamp, the notes, omg the amazing notes, have been incredible. You really left an indelible mark in your time here, we were lucky!"

I tear up a little thinking about when he said that. I had taken over sales for our company in early 2020. We lost a lot of customers that summer, during the first wave of lockdowns. We did furloughs, and senior leadership took huge pay cuts. Everyone was afraid for their jobs. But we didn't have to lay off anybody. Not one person through all of covid.

As Andy said, it was largely due to my efforts revamping our sales process and bringing in new customers to replace the ones who left. I kept people employed during the chaos and fear of the beginning of the covid pandemic.