The secret mindset of the world’s top CEOs: Embracing the ‘Day One’ mentality  

Illustration by Ruth Macapagal

In the current fast-paced world of business, innovation and change occur at unprecedented speeds. To succeed, maintaining a “Day One” mentality is crucial for longevity and success.

This mindset, championed by some of the world’s top CEOs, emphasizes treating each day as if it’s the first in a startup—full of possibility, energy and a constant readiness to adapt. It’s about staying agile, staying hungry and never letting success breed complacency.

A small hole can sink an entire ship

The Day One mentality is rooted in the principle of the small hole—you have to be vigilant at all times. This is why I always advise our clients, top CEOs and business owners from around the world to adopt a healthy sense of paranoia about what they might be missing.

The American billionaire Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, put it well by saying, “If you don’t worry, you need to worry. And if you worry, you don’t need to worry.” What he means by worrying is, “Constantly stay vigilant about what you might be missing.”

Stay hungry, stay vigilant

Stephen Schwarzman, the self-made billionaire and co-founder of Blackstone, exemplifies this mentality by approaching each day as if it’s Day One. No matter how large or successful a business becomes, it must retain the hunger and vigilance of a startup. Event Blackstone had more than $1 trillion in total assets under management as of May 2024, making it the largest alternative investment firm globally.

This approach ensures that businesses remain alert to market changes, customer needs and competitive threats, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. For Schwarzman, the success of Blackstone is rooted not in the comfort of past achievements, but in the constant pursuit of new opportunities and the fear of missing out on the next big thing.

If you adopt Stephen Schwarzman’s approach of treating every day as Day One —regardless of how successful your business is—you maintain the mindset of a startup. This constant vigilance will naturally lead you to make smarter decisions across all areas of your business.

Beware of bureaucracy

As companies grow, they often fall prey to bureaucracy and rigid processes. These can stifle innovation and slow decision-making, turning once agile companies into sluggish entities. Companies become victims of their own success, prioritizing internal processes over external opportunities.

To avoid this trap, leaders must actively dismantle unnecessary bureaucratic layers, ensuring that processes serve the business, not the other way around. This is a key lesson from Jeff Bezos of Amazon, who insists that the company should always operate with the urgency and flexibility of a startup, regardless of its size.

Innovation as an insurance policy

In today’s rapidly changing environment, the ability to innovate is the best insurance policy. Companies must remain flexible and responsive to shifts in customer behavior, market trends and technological advancements.

This constant adaptation not only drives growth but also helps avert risks, keeping companies ahead of the curve. Jeff Bezos has often emphasized that Day One is about being lean, flexible and quick to experiment, ensuring that Amazon never loses the spirit of discovery and innovation.

Apple and Day One

Similarly, Steve Jobs instilled a Day One mindset at Apple, focusing on simplicity and innovation. Apple’s ability to maintain this approach is a key reason for its continued success and value.

Under Jobs, the mentality was never about resting on laurels, but about treating every new product as if it was the very first one, driving a culture of excellence and iteration. To succeed, a business must swiftly adapt to rapidly changing external conditions and the evolving needs of its customers by continuously innovating for them.

By preserving a Day One culture—a culture that is obsessed with customers; promotes high-quality and fast decision-making; encourages employees and leaders to remain curious, experimental; and open to failure as a source of learning and competitive advantage—a company can better capitalize on its growth instead of being hindered by it. This approach positions the company to lead innovation from the forefront.

To accomplish this, companies must actively resist slipping into Day Two mindsets: prioritizing short-term targets or rigid processes over outcomes that delight customers; letting hierarchy and bureaucracy flourish instead of fostering autonomy, rapid experimentation and decision-making; fearing failure and becoming entrenched in existing capabilities rather than daring to think big about what could be.

The agile jaguar vs the sluggish dinosaur

In the business jungle, companies must embody the agility of a jaguar rather than the sluggishness of a dinosaur. The jaguar, with its speed and adaptability, represents a company that can swiftly respond to changes and seize opportunities.

In contrast, the dinosaur, burdened by its own weight, is slow to react and often becomes extinct. Businesses should strive to be like the jaguar: nimble, elegant and capable of pouncing on new opportunities with precision.

Think about the biggest brands that fell from greatness—companies like Kodak, Blockbuster, or even Nokia. Each of them, at some point, lost their Day One mentality. They became too comfortable, too slow and ultimately, they couldn’t keep up with the pace of innovation that smaller, more nimble companies like Netflix or Apple maintained.

Challenging the status quo

When optimizing businesses, my team and I often encounter resistance from those clinging to the status quo. The justification of “we’ve always done it this way” is a common refrain.

However, this mindset can be detrimental. Companies must challenge existing norms and be willing to cut unnecessary processes to stay competitive. This willingness to adapt and evolve is what separates thriving businesses from those that stagnate.

One memorable example is a project we undertook with a global family business conglomerate. The business, despite its long history of success, had grown rigid with layers of bureaucracy that hindered quick decision-making.

We helped them peel back these unnecessary processes, streamlining operations and empowering the team to take ownership of results. The impact was immediate—quicker responses to market changes, a rejuvenated company culture and increased innovation across the board.

Three to thrive

Revisit processes regularly: Continuously evaluate your business processes to eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and stay nimble.

Cultivate startup culture. Foster a culture that encourages agility, innovation and rapid decision-making, just like a startup would.

Challenge the status quo: Never settle for “business as usual.” Always seek to improve, adapt and innovate to stay ahead.

Tom Oliver, a “global management guru” (Bloomberg), is the chair of The Tom Oliver Group, the trusted advisor and counselor to many of the world’s most influential family businesses, medium-sized enterprises, market leaders and global conglomerates. For more information and inquiries: www.TomOliverGroup.com or email [email protected].