Leader Peter Aceto has announced that he is stepping down from his position as the CEO of Tangerine.
What happens to a high-performing human when it comes time to transfer his passion?
It doesn’t matter if you are an athlete, a coach, an entrepreneur,or a CEO — high-performing people are made the same way: they are full of passion, relentlessly competitive, and they have an unimaginable work ethic.
Peter is just such a person. He is the kind of leader who takes the time to create a corporate culture that people buy into, and he lives and breathes every detail. He is the kind of player that bleeds the team color; he eats, sleeps, and lives the company message. Peter performed his role as CEO like a championship coach. A coach that takes the time to know every player. Not just their name, but their kid’s names and what they are interested in. He is a person who has a well-defined mission and clear values for his company and team. He lives the mission, he lives the values, and he hires and fires according to them.
Guys like Peter are the world class athletes of the business world. They are the kinds of leaders who in sport win 10 years worth of championships. Players talk about them for a lifetime after playing for them because they are so special. Most people will never know someone who brings that level of passion and energy to his life and work, someone who communicates his passion and energy to his team so clearly.
But there is nothing more dangerous than a high-performing human with nowhere to pour their energy and commitment.
This makes me think of Olympic athletes who suffer what could be a career-ending injury and must decide whether they aregoing to quit or make a comeback. You see it in sport all the time: someone who should be done but for some reason beats all the odds and comes back even stronger than before. At some point after the injury — days or weeks or months — they open their eyes and decide it’s time to get back in the game.
When that happens, it seems like nothing can stop them. They become obsessed, unable to think or dream of anything else in their life. Something drives them to the point of near-insanity to get themselves back into the game. And when they find that new goal, they feel alive, full of passion and determination and they will chase that goal the way a lion hunts its prey.
I can’t wait to see what Peter Aceto will do next. All I know is that if I could afford to hire someone like Peter, I would hunt that man down and keep at him until he said yes, because the thought of him being scooped up by one of my competitors would scare me to my core.
Peter, enjoy some time off. We will be waiting patiently to see where you decide to pour you passion, drive, and work ethic into next.
Your next herd is waiting for you.
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