Suck It Up!

Howe to embrace pressure

June 25, 2025

Founding a business brings pressure- there is no doubt about that. How you react to it and think about it is the difference between success and failure, between feeling energized and totally coming apart at the seams. Pressure is ever present, it is relentless, it doesn’t care if you’re tired or exhausted or are desperately trying to juggle a million different balls in the air. However pressure can be a good thing.

It keeps you focused, it energises you and if channelled correctly can help fuel your growth and success. The trick to pressure is to understand what you can and cannot control. Dave Alred, who was Johnny Wilkinson’s kicking coach, wrote a fantastic book called The Pressure Principle. In it he talks about how he makes sure his athletes, who he’s coaching, have done everything that they can control as perfectly as is possible. They have done everything that they can, that is within their control and ability, to affect a positive outcome. This is what you need to do.

When a situation occurs, or worse a mini crisis hits you, there are elements that you will not be able to control. A difficult or unreasonable client, a supplier going bust or letting you down at the last moment, an employee walking out at a critical juncture or trying to steal a client and start their own business or worse a large client reneging on a payment and causing a cashflow crisis. These are relatively standard events and ones you can expect but then you also have financial crises, pandemics, geopolitical and/ or extreme economic events. All of these have happened to me and the short answer is there is nothing you can do about them. As the saying goes- shit happens.

What you can do is react correctly. Whether its dealing with one of the above or simply a high pressure sales or client or product meeting there are things or parts that you can control.  You cannot control the client or other people but you can control yourself. Have you prepared correctly? Have you gone through every possible scenario and practised what the reaction might be? Have you run the Charlie Munger test? Be prepared & the Charlie Munger test | LinkedIn Have you tried to identify not just the known unknowns but also the unknown unknowns and how you will react? These are the things you can control and practice and crucially you must that ensure you execute to perfection or to the best of your ability. These are things you can worry about. If at the end of the day you have performed everything you can control as perfectly as possible then you have done everything you can. The trick is to only worry about what you can control and to ignore what you can’t control.  There's nothing you can do about the latter so there is no point worrying about it or letting it stress you out.  This is harder than it sounds and takes practice but just focus on what you can affect and your ability to maximise that.

The other thing with pressure is how you think about it. If you are about to do a sales presentation, where the outcome could be a business redefining deal, then the pressure is undoubtedly on, but stop and have a think about how you’ve got there. The same if you’re about to give a keynote opening speech at a conference for the first time ( apparently one of the most hated things on the planet).  You’re there, in that situation, because of all the success you’ve had and all your wins so far. If you hadn’t been successful and had those wins you wouldn’t be in this situation. If it’s a huge deal then its because you founded a startup, found a product solution in an unmet niche, built a business, reached out and engaged with the client to get the meeting, put together a proposal that was appealing enough about your business to have the opportunity for this meeting, etc. So before it starts give yourself a pat on the back, smile and embrace the pressure you’ve created for yourself. You’re only under pressure because of all the brilliant wins you’ve had so far which you’ve created. Once you embrace it then your chance of success increases even further.

Pressure can also drive your team. As a leader you want to ensure that you let through just the right amount. It’s no good passing through all the pressure  that you’re dealing with as that will create panic and uncertainty. It’s also no good giving yourself an ulcer while your team frolics happily in the sunshine blissfully ignorant. You need to pass through enough to excite, energise and focus them without freaking them out or causing them to implode.

Another issue with pressure is your friends and family. Unless they started their own business then with all the love, understanding and despite the best will in the world, they simply will not get what you’re going through. Be unapologetic. You are in this situation because you are trying and succeeding in doing something incredibly difficult. At the same time find other founders to talk to.  Build a network of like minded people. People who’ve been there, done that or are still doing it- they will understand and be more than happy to offer advice or share their experiences.

 Finally you have to accept that life isn’t fair. I’ve never met a successful founder who blames or moans about the bad stuff they have to deal with. Some of the stuff that happens to you is just plain bad luck and there’s nothing you can do about it so don’t moan or complain or lose yourself in endless ‘if only’ conversations. These will not help. Work out what you need to do,  prepare relentlessly and then execute to the best of your ability.

 Remember you’re only under pressure because of the success you’ve had so far – so embrace it, execute to perfection and suck it up!