Starting a business as a dad often feels like walking a tightrope. We dedicate our time and resources to ensure success, driven by the goal of providing stability and opportunities for our families. We dream of success, yet the statistics can be sobering – most new businesses won’t even last 5 years!
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For dads, the stakes feel deeply personal. Running a business can be super stressful and it doesn’t just stay at the office. It can easily overflow and mess with our energy, patience, and ability to be fully present at home. Failure impacts more than just our bank account; it impacts the people we love most. How can dads dedicated to learning and growth achieve success while keeping a healthy work-life balance?
As a “Learning Dad,” I believe one powerful strategy is to seek wisdom from those who’ve built lasting legacies. Forget the overnight “gurus”; let’s focus on real-world lessons from leaders like Howard Schultz (Starbucks) and Bob Iger (Disney), who built global empires while managing the complexities of leadership and life.
Learning from the Masters: Schultz & Iger
These aren’t just names on a corporate ladder; they are leaders who shaped iconic brands over decades. Schultz grew Starbucks from a small Seattle chain into a worldwide phenomenon. Iger led Disney through incredible transformation and growth, acquiring giants like Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Their journeys provide valuable insights into business, leadership, vision, and resilience – lessons that every learning dad can benefit from.
Former Starbucks CEO shares lessons from nearly 40 years of leading one of the world’s top brands.
Disney CEO Bob Iger teaches you the leadership skills and strategies he used to reimagine one of the world’s most beloved brands.
My Own Learning Journey (Failures Included!)
I’m drawn to these stories because my own path hasn’t been a straight line to success. I know what it’s like to experience the pain of business failure up close and personal. Not just once, but twice in the past ten years; both of my companies didn’t make it past the five-year milestone. My early entrepreneurial record stood at a humbling 0-2.
Man, those failures were brutal, not only in terms of money but also seeing all that stress affect my family life was a real eye-opener. It fueled my determination to learn how to create something sustainable while still being a dedicated husband and father. Learning from sources like MasterClasses by Schultz and Iger was essential for my rebuilding and refocusing. “The Learning Dad” blog is based on the belief that we can always learn, grow, and improve our lives and those of our families.
10 Essential CEO Secrets for Learning Dads
Inspired by the insights of Schultz and Iger, here are 10 vital skills and mindsets that empower us to excel not only in our careers but also in nurturing our families and finding balance in our lives as fathers.
1. Know Where To Focus
“If an organization and a company are chasing too many things, it becomes dysfunctional very quickly.” – Howard Schultz
Focus leads to better outcomes. Iger famously narrowed Disney’s strategy into three essential priorities: creativity, technology, and growth. As fathers, this principle is absolutely priceless. It means knowing when to concentrate on an important work task and when to give our kids undivided attention, avoiding the distractions of multitasking.
Focus helps us identify where we can have the greatest impact in our personal and professional lives, allowing us to better serve our most important “customers” – our families.
2. Operate with Integrity
“It is vital that anyone in business operates with a high degree of integrity.” – Bob Iger
Integrity is the bedrock of trust, in business and in life. For us dads, being honest isn’t just about playing fair in business; it’s about setting a good example for our kids every single day. It means paying bills on time, respecting others, admitting our mistakes, and doing the right thing, even when it’s hard or unnoticed. During the 2008 crisis, Schultz made difficult yet transparent choices. He temporarily closed all his weak stores to retrain staff on how to make espresso. That transparency builds credibility – a vital trait whether you’re leading a company or a family.
3. Use Time Effectively (Especially for Family)
“My job demands a lot of my time and energy, so I have adjusted my daily routine over the years to enable me to do my job effectively.” – Bob Iger
Successful leaders protect their time. Look at Iger’s routine:
4:15 AM — Personal time.(Workout, listen to music, and practice stillness.)
6:30 AM — Work
4:30 PM — Home and spend time with family.
He starts early with personal time and focused work, but with a clear boundary to be home for family. This is more than just finding the time to get work done. It’s about intentionally making sure to spend quality time with family and take care of yourself—something that every dad trying to balance work and life has to plan.
Schedule your priorities: work blocks, family dinner, kids’ bedtime, your own recharge time. Regularly review how you spend your hours. Consider asking yourself daily: “What’s one way I intentionally connected with my family today?”
4. Innovate with Empathy
“The easier route is to disrupt a category that already exists…” – Howard Schultz
Schultz didn’t invent coffee; he innovated the experience. Iger evolved Disney princesses by understanding modern audiences. This empathy isn’t just for product development. As fathers, empathy helps us really get where our kids are coming from when they say or do certain things. It helps us connect with their changing needs and come up with new ways of being parents as they get older. It’s about truly understanding our most important “audiences”—our kids.
5. Always Be Learning
“Being curious is vital to being successful.” – Bob Iger
This is the heart of being a Learning Dad! Successful people are lifelong learners. They ask questions, explore, read, and embrace new experiences. Curiosity helps us understand the market, our work, and our kids better.
As Schultz reminded us, learning can be uncomfortable, even involving failure. Put yourself out there anyway. Learn from business setbacks, parenting challenges, or simply by observing your children with fresh eyes. Embrace the messy, uncomfortable, essential process of growth.
6. Assemble Value-Based Teams (Including Family)
“Your primary job as an entrepreneur and leader is to build a team of people with diverse experiences and expertise but like-minded values.” – Howard Schultz
Business thrives with the right team, and so does family life. Think of your family as your most vital team. How do we apply this? Foster collaboration by valuing each family member’s unique strengths, including your spouse’s and children’s. Work towards shared family values and build a strong support network.
7. Don’t Just Manage, Lead
“People do not want to be managed. They want to be part of something larger than themselves.” – Howard Schultz
Effective fatherhood is leadership. It’s about setting a positive direction for the family by modeling desired behavior and values, communicating clearly and honestly during difficult times, and helping your children become capable individuals. It’s about guiding and inspiring, not just managing schedules and enforcing rules.
8. Take Calculated “Giant Swings”
“Anything new and different is risky but necessary.” – Bob Iger
Success often requires courage and bold moves. For dads, these “giant swings” might seem pretty different than for a CEO – maybe supporting better time off for parents, starting that side gig to have more freedom, switching careers for a better work-life balance, moving to a better neighborhood for the family, or making important parenting decisions based on strong beliefs.
The key, as Iger stressed, is thoughtfulness. Approach risks with knowledge, weigh the potential impact on your family, and make informed, calculated decisions.
9. Continuously Find Ways to Serve
“Is this decision going to make our employees and customers proud? — If the answer is yes, you are on the right track. If the answer is no, it may be time to rethink your strategy.” – Howard Schultz
Applying this service mindset at home is powerful. It means proactively asking: How can I better serve my partner’s needs today? How can I support their goals? What do my children need from me right now – emotionally, developmentally? Shifting the focus from self to service deepens connection and strengthens the entire family unit.
10. Forge Strong Relationships (Starting at Home)
“Find partners who share your values, and who can be relied on when things get difficult.” – Howard Schultz
Strong relationships are built on trust, respect, honesty, and mutual benefit (a win-win mindset). This is non-negotiable in business, and even more critical at home. Our partnership with our spouse and our connection with our children form the bedrock of a fulfilling “Dad Life.” Applying principles of due diligence, honesty, and mutual support strengthens these most vital connections.
Closing Thoughts: The Ultimate Skill for the Learning Dad
We’ve explored 10 valuable lessons from top CEOs – ideas that are essential for both building a successful business and nurturing a happy family. Developing these skills can undoubtedly increase our effectiveness.
But even mastering these doesn’t guarantee a specific outcome. Life and business remain unpredictable. This brings us to perhaps the most crucial skill for any Learning Dad navigating this journey: Contentment.
Contentment isn’t complacency or giving up. It’s about finding happiness and fulfillment in the little things and everyday moments – the journey of learning, growing, trying your best, and making the most of what you have, whether it’s at work or at home.
It’s seeing setbacks not as final failures, but as learning opportunities. It’s about celebrating small victories with gratitude. It’s about finding that sense of calmness inside you, knowing that you put in the best effort, and focusing on what really counts – your personal development and your loved ones.
For me, cultivating this contentment, especially during difficult times, is deeply connected to my faith. As the Apostle Paul wrote, it’s about learning the secret of being content in every situation:
“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation… For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11-13 NLT)
In the end, being a successful Learning Dad isn’t just about reaching goals and accomplishments that other people recognize. It’s measured by our commitment to growth, our active involvement in our families’ lives, and our ability to find purpose and joy.