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How to Discover your Why: What I Learned from my Transition from CEO

Source | LinkedIn | Brad Smith

Mark Twain once said that the two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day that you discover why. My goal for writing this article is to share an approach to discover (or in my case, rediscover) your “why”.

My transition

This past January, I stepped down from the job of a lifetime – serving as Intuit’s fifth CEO, a job I had the privilege of holding for 11 amazing years. While it was the job of a lifetime, I knew it could not be a job for a lifetime. Like all chapters in our lives, I knew the end date was inevitable and my goal was simply to be a part of making that decision!

I had carefully planned the milestones that would help me determine my exit date years in advance and partnered closely with our board and the incoming CEO to ensure a smooth succession. As I wrapped up my final days in December 2018, I was confident that I had a plan for what I would do once I handed over the reins. I would invest my time serving on boards, coaching young executives and spending more time with my family.

On Jan 1st, 2019 with that clarity of focus, my muscle memory kicked in. I got out of bed and hit the gym at 5:30 am like I always did. I read the WSJ, watched the Opening Bell on CNBC and headed to my new office as Executive Chairman of Intuit. From there, I filled my days with meetings until 7:00 pm. I was just as busy as I had been as CEO, but something felt off balance.

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