Are you an A player or a B player?

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

Gary Vaynerchuk talks a lot about how not everybody is destined to be a #1 CEO or founder. As most of us know, the industry is saturated with young guys all wanting to be a CEO or entrepreneur because it's "the thing to be".

I'm exploring this myself at 23 and have been wondering if I'd be a better VP of Sales compared to the CEO and Founder or the business-creator.

From where I stand right now, I've been trying to be an A player but feel that I don't have the skills, capital, or experience to be a successful A player yet. I've been working on a business (personal training / planning on opening a boot camp gym) but I also work full time in sales.. figure if I become really good at sales as a B player, it will help me to succeed as an A player.

Where do you lie?

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

figure if I become really good at sales as a B player

It will help you everywhere in life, not just if you want to become an "A player."

 

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

It will help you everywhere in life, not just if you want to become an "A player."

You bet

I'm just impatient and take my immediate knowledge from the sales jobs and try to implement them into my own businesses - all the time.. win or lose, success or failure. Always moving, always working on something.

 

[OldFaithful]

If the definition of "A Player" is the person in the role of business owner or entrepreneur, then I'm an "A Player". But I don't think that is sufficient differentiation to really define anyone, at least if doesn't seem that way IMO. I haven't read a lot of Gary Vaynerchuk though, so I'll admit that I'm not really clear on his definition. Is his definition along the lines of the typical "Alpha" and "Beta" personality types?

In the general definition of the "Alpha" and the "Beta", I've been both at different times/phases of life. As an employee I've almost always settled into the "Beta" role and it seems to fit the industry roles where I've worked. However, I find that as I'm making my own decisions in my startup, I get to express the "Alpha" more and more simply because it's my baby. I like it!

@ChrisJHarrington if you want to learn & hone your skills working for someone else, that's a great idea. No matter what your personality type, you can respect your employer and submit to their direction without losing yourself. As you work on your own business, you will get to develop your own leadership skills and you can be the person you wish to become. We're all in the process of improving ourselves.

 

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[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

If the definition of "A Player" is the person in the role of business owner or entrepreneur, then I'm an "A Player". But I don't think that is sufficient differentiation to really define anyone, at least if doesn't seem that way IMO. I haven't read a lot of Gary Vaynerchuk though, so I'll admit that I'm not really clear on his definition. Is his definition along the lines of the typical "Alpha" and "Beta" personality types?

In the general definition of the "Alpha" and the "Beta", I've been both at different times/phases of life. As an employee I've almost always settled into the "Beta" role and it seems to fit the industry roles where I've worked. However, I find that as I'm making my own decisions in my startup, I get to express the "Alpha" more and more simply because it's my baby. I like it!

@ChrisJHarrington if you want to learn & hone your skills working for someone else, that's a great idea. No matter what your personality type, you can respect your employer and submit to their direction without losing yourself. As you work on your own business, you will get to develop your own leadership skills and you can be the person you wish to become. We're all in the process of improving ourselves.

Not "Alpha" or "Beta" - moreso a matter of, are you a business OWNER / CEO / Entrepreneur / FOUNDER, or are you a really good #2, #3, or #4?

A player would be the founder, visionary, person who makes the business, builds it from the ground up, hires the people etc, or the person appointed to CEO
B player would be the guy who is one of the first guys brought on - maybe the CMO, CSO, etc. This person probably has a sizable equity stake in the company, but they're moreso joining the mission of the CEO/founder. Their role and contribution can be just as important, but they're not the actual visionary or person who created the business.

One example: A friend/mentor/former professor of mine is an A player in his own CPA accounting firm.. however, he was an IMPORTANT B player for Blue Buffalo Dog & Cat food when they had a $501M IPO, and owned 3% of the company at the time of IPO. So if we only talked about Blue Buffalo, he'd be a B player, but he was one of the first few people onboard with the company, however he did not CREATE the company, or the idea.

I don't remember his role, but I do remember his story about securing a large purchase order at a meeting with a Tom & Jerry cartoon video that was edited with the executive's faces on the video. This was before they even had the Blue Buffalo Dog & Cat Food product - it was still being tested and proven in the market. He didn't CREATE the company, but he was one of the first handful of executives in the room closing deals and proving that they could build the brand and the business. He was a B player (he's also worth a billion)

 

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

Finding it interesting that everyone on here is strictly an A so far...

Everybody wants to be the founder - nobody wants to be the #2 or #3..

 

[vinylawesome]

Finding it interesting that everyone on here is strictly an A so far...

Everybody wants to be the founder - nobody wants to be the #2 or #3..

I've heard Gary's A and B player analogy. I've also heard him pair it with saying he would be happy to be the B, C, or D player at Facebook or Uber. Thus, I think he is referring to the fact that financially it is better to be the B player at a company that has a lot of financial upside than to be the A player at a small going nowhere business.

I think you see a lot of A player types here because a lot of folks, at least from what I have seen, are looking for financial and time freedom. Thus shooting for a $5 to $10 million dollar net worth vs $5 to $10 Billion.

 

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[Young-Gun]

Eh, not trying to be rude (really).
But to me, it's mental masturbation.

A-player, B-player.
If you want to get somewhere...
Follow Laws of Effection and CENTS commandments.

Other than that, set up your lifestyle to make YOU happy.
(I write this elsewhere as "Go for what you feel you want, not what you think you want.")

Who "wins" this mental pissing contest?
Happy B-player, or miserable A-player?
Wealthy B-player, or poor A-player?
Does it really matter? (I think, 'no.')

By this definition I'm an "A player" since I'm a founder and unwilling to work for anyone else.

But, other than making me feel a little smug (which is not a good thing), I think it's just words, and it's only action that matters.

Just my .02, thanks for the thread

 

[LightHouse]

I'm an A player, but i have talked about it in the past, I'm a terrible CEO.

Really, trying to define what you are shooting for can be a bit of a waste. When you build a bigger business the biggest challenge is hiring great people to fill in gaps. But the idea is that one way or another, as an entrepreneur, you are working on something greater than yourself.

 

[million$$$smile]

I'm an A player, but i have talked about it in the past, I'm a terrible CEO.

Really, trying to define what you are shooting for can be a bit of a waste. When you build a bigger business the biggest challenge is hiring great people to fill in gaps. But the idea is that one way or another, as an entrepreneur, you are working on something greater than yourself.

@LightHouse hit it on the head.

Just because one regards THEMSELVES as being an A player or B player really doesn't mean squat. And much of the time what others view you at doesn't either.

If you are truly building a viable multi- million dollar business, one can't do it on their own (yes, I know there are a few exceptional solopreneurs) so the key is finding the A player in the niche you need, hire them and continue to surround yourself with A players in their chosen field. One can be extremely successful just having smarter people working for you.

One of the toughest things I've had to learn as my business evolved was turning the reins over to others for many functions. If you don't learn to do that, you are your own worst enemy. At first it was extremely hard. I didn't think that anyone knew my business as well as I did, so there was no way that I would allow myself to give up 'control'. (that is what it usually boils down to-CONTROL) but I have learned that operations run a whole lot smoother if I allow others the opportunity to flex some muscles and run the ball in their court.

Creating a team is as important as running the business.

A general cannot win the war by himself. He is only an A player if he can command others correctly.

 

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