What Got You Here Won’t Get You There–but ‘There’ Is Just the Beginning

As a serial entrepreneur with a track record of success, for example, building and selling Chorus.ai for $575 million, I often get asked what it takes to succeed. Honestly, this question puzzles me. I don’t feel I’ve achieved true success yet. To me, real success is about making a meaningful change in the world, and that usually entails building a truly iconic company. Chorus and my other ventures? They’re a great start and might be a nice financial outcome, but the journey is still long.

In his terrific book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (Hachette Books, 2007), executive coach Marshall Goldsmith discusses what it takes for leaders to reach the next level. He points out that the very behaviors that drive initial success can become obstacles. For instance, the overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion or the tendency to start with “No,” “But,” or “However” when hearing new ideas. These habits can stifle creativity and collaboration as leaders climb the ladder.

While I wholeheartedly agree with Goldsmith’s insights, I think there’s a whole other level of what is needed to build a world-changing venture. While Goldsmith’s tips are fantastic and will undoubtedly improve you as an executive, boosting your operational effectiveness and perhaps making you a more thoughtful leader, they don’t necessarily transform you into a visionary creator–someone capable of conceiving and building something truly revolutionary.

So what does it take to build something iconic? According to Shakespeare: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” In my experience, both from my own companies and working with entrepreneurs, most aren’t born great, and almost none have greatness thrust upon them. Rather, it’s about working hard to achieve greatness, and to do that you often really need to transform yourself internally. It requires a fundamental shift in mindset and approach.

1. Embrace radical vision.

Incremental improvements won’t cut it. You need to envision a future that doesn’t yet exist and have the courage to pursue it relentlessly. When I founded Chorus.ai, we didn’t just aim to improve sales calls–we reimagined the entire landscape of business communication. Even if you fall short, you have to aim for the stars. For example, at Somite, our vision is to become the OpenAI for stem cell biology and decipher the language in which cells communicate in order to introduce novel therapies for disease that currently have no cure.

2. Cultivate intellectual humility. 

True innovation often comes from unexpected places. While confidence is crucial, the ability to admit “I don’t know” and seek out diverse perspectives can be transformative. This openness has led me to insights that shaped our product and roadmap in ways I never initially imagined.

3. Develop adaptive resilience. 

Building an iconic company isn’t a sprint–it’s an ultramarathon with constantly shifting terrain. I think building a startup is probably the hardest endeavor out there (perhaps other than becoming a chess grandmaster or winning an Olympic medal). You need to develop adaptive resilience–the ability not just to bounce back from challenges, but to evolve and improve because of them, pivoting strategies while maintaining your core vision.

4. Work as if you’re really trying to save the world.

At the end of the day, it’s about values and the audacity to believe you can make a difference. To inspire truly great leaders and create something iconic, you must approach your work with the gravity and urgency of someone who’s genuinely trying to save the world. This isn’t hyperbole–it’s about cultivating a mindset that recognizes the potential for transformative impact in everything you do.

At Somite, we embody this approach through three core values:

• Urgency: We operate with a profound sense of urgency, driven by our ambitious mission to change the world through excellence.
• Well-being: We foster a resilient, thriving culture that enables us to consistently deliver our best work.
• Authenticity: We embrace open, honest dialogue, acknowledging realities and celebrating successes with integrity.

The journey from successful entrepreneur to visionary leader and creator isn’t about perfecting what you already do well. It’s about fundamentally reimagining your role and impact on the world. It’s a path of continuous evolution, where each success is just a stepping stone to the next big challenge.

As I reflect on my journey, I realize that the greatest obstacle to creating something truly transformative isn’t external competition or market forces–it’s our own limitations. The habits and mindsets that brought us initial success can become comfortable prisons, constraining our ability to see and seize truly game-changing opportunities.

Breaking free from these self-imposed constraints is hard work. It requires constant self-reflection, a willingness to challenge your own assumptions, and the courage to venture into uncharted territory. For me, daily meditation has been a crucial tool in this process of self-reflection and personal growth. It provides the mental space to step back from the daily grind, gain clarity, and align my actions with my greater vision.

But it’s in this space–beyond our comfort zones and past the boundaries of conventional wisdom–that true innovation happens. Building an iconic company isn’t just about creating a successful business. It’s about daring to reimagine entire industries, solving problems we didn’t even know existed, and leaving a lasting positive impact on the world. It’s about transcending not just your current role as a leader, but your entire conception of what’s possible.

So the next time someone asks me about the key to success, my answer will be this: Don’t just aim to improve–aim to transcend. Because in the world of truly revolutionary business, what got you here won’t just not get you there–it might actually hold you back from even seeing where ‘there’ could be. And remember, reaching ‘there’ is just the beginning of an even greater journey, as you change the world.