How to Work Like A Top 1% CEO

The greatest CEOs in history,

including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Jensen Huang,

shared an obsession with reading biographies.

Studying the lives of extraordinary figures reveals the distinct patterns

and mindsets that drive monumental achievement.

Examining the habits of elite founders highlights

the core principles behind top-tier performance.

A Superhuman Work Ethic

Top-performing executives operate with an extreme,

unrelenting work ethic.

Rather than working standard twelve- or sixteen-hour days,

they dedicate virtually every waking hour to their mission,

especially during the formative stages of a company.

• Living at the Office: When founding Zip2, Elon Musk slept on a beanbag next to his desk and asked early employees to kick him awake when they arrived so he could immediately resume work. Similarly, Bill Gates spent Microsoft’s earliest days in an endless loop of writing code, napping beside computer terminals or directly on the floor.
• Cultivating an Immersive Culture: During Facebook’s early growth, Mark Zuckerberg offered employees a $600 monthly bonus if they lived within a mile of headquarters, encouraging the team to treat the workplace as their home.
• Viewing Long Hours as a Standard: At Nvidia, Jensen Huang met employee concerns regarding demanding schedules with the reminder that Olympic athletes also complain about early morning training, maintaining that grueling hours are an unavoidable prerequisite for excellence.

Pushing past physical exhaustion also serves a critical

psychological function: leading from the front lines.

Historical commanders such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar,

and Napoleon fought alongside their soldiers rather

than directing from a safe distance.

When a founder visibly endures hardship on the factory floor

or late at night, it communicates deep conviction

and inspires teams to match that level of commitment.

Speed as the Ultimate Offense and Defense

Speed is an underappreciated yet decisive competitive advantage

in both warfare and commerce.

A powerful illustration of this is the SR-71 Blackbird,

a military aircraft designed with virtually no defensive weaponry

other than pure acceleration.

Despite more than 3,000 missiles being launched at it,

none ever hit because the plane simply outpaced them.

In business, moving with extreme velocity allows

an organization to stay ahead of competitors and adapt in real time.

This philosophy underpins Mark Zuckerberg’s famous operational

directive to “move fast and break things”;

if an organization never breaks anything,

it is not moving fast enough.

Historically, when Hannibal crossed the Alps to march on Rome,

he sacrificed half his army and most of his elephants

to the difficult crossing.

Despite those catastrophic losses, prioritizing speed

and the element of surprise ultimately allowed

him to confront the enemy effectively.

Studying the Greats and Embedding a Hero’s Journey

Exceptional founders do not operate merely to chase riches;

they view their ventures as part of a larger narrative

or hero’s journey.

Framing an organization’s work as a grand adventure

enables leaders to channel raw ambition into an

inspiring mission that galvanizes their workforce.

Elite leaders constantly study their predecessors

to refine their strategy. Elon Musk frequently studied Napoleon

and Alexander the Great to understand how historical leaders

commanded devotion, maintained momentum,

and led from the front.

Great performers relentlessly study the greats who came before them.

Setting and Constantly Reiterating the Vision

The single most critical responsibility of a CEO

is to define an uncompromising vision

and repeatedly reinforce it across the entire organization.

A company acts as an extension of the founder,

and the greatest danger any venture faces

is drifting away from its core purpose.

• Maintaining Direction: During his eastward conquests, Alexander the Great continuously reiterated the vision of conquering the known world, using it to keep exhausted troops marching forward when they wanted to turn back.
• Anchoring Ambitious Missions: Top entrepreneurs possess distinct worldviews and communicate them relentlessly—whether it is Jeff Bezos championing extreme customer obsession, Mark Zuckerberg striving to connect humanity, or Elon Musk working to make humanity a multi-planetary species.

Because executing difficult, ambitious goals guarantees setbacks,

obstacles, and friction, a leader must function

as a continuous anchor, reinforcing the company’s ultimate

destination so the team never retreats.