Your Needs Versus the Business's Needs

William Hagstrom, Crescendo Bioscience

William Hagstrom, CEO of Crescendo Bioscience, remembers an idea from a column in Inc. magazine: "There comes a time when you realize the business needs something you can't give it; at the same time, you realize you need something the business can't give you," A CEO needs to know there are very distinct life cycles in a company's evolution, and business leaders must constantly assess their role and place in these maturation stages as well as their own needs as entrepreneurs.