The Title Trap
There is a script we are supposed to follow: You start a business, you grow it, and you become the CEO. It is the "Top Job." It is the prize.
But for the last few years, sitting in the CEO chair has felt like wearing a suit that is two sizes too small. I can button it up. I can look the part. I can "Mask" my way through the meetings and the handshakes.
But when I get home, I am completely depleted.
The Spiky Profile
I recently looked into the concept of the "Spiky Profile" regarding neurodivergence.
Neurotypical brains are often "well-rounded." They are decent at systems, decent at small talk, decent at admin.
My brain (and likely yours) is "Spiky." I am in the 99th percentile for Systems Architecture and Logic. But I struggle with the "Executive Function" required for maintaining social harmony or managing vague administrative overhead.
The CEO Role is a Social Role
We mistake the CEO role for a "Decision Making" role. It isn't. In a mature company, the CEO role is a Social Role. It is about culture, evangelism, fundraising, and emotional regulation of the team.
For an INTJ/Autistic founder, this requires running a "simulation" of a person 8 hours a day. We have to manually compute empathy and social cues that others process automatically. That is why it drains us.
The Pivot to Ops
I realized I am not a CEO. I am an Architect.
CEO: "How do people feel about the mission?"
Architect/COO: "Is the system efficient? Is the code clean? Is the logic sound?"
I am happiest when I am in the engine room, not on the bridge.
The Agentic Savior
This is why Agentic AI has been such a relief. It handles the "Executive Function" grunt work—the scheduling, the follow-ups, the email drafting—that used to drain my battery.
It allows me to sit in the "Ops" chair, focusing on the structure of the business, while the AI (and my partner, Victoria) handles the flow of the business.
The Protocol: Don't let your ego glue you to a chair that drains you. If you built the machine, you don't have to be the mascot. Be the mechanic.
