48-year-old CEO of a $1 billion startup: My secret to success is, ‘I hire the best and I get out of their way'

Some bosses like to stick their nose into everything their employees are working on. Fawn Weaver isn't one of them, she says.

Weaver, a 48-year-old self-made millionaire, founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey in 2016. Her Shelbyville, Tennessee-based company became the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in history, achieving a $1.1 billion valuation in May, according to Forbes and the International Wine and Spirits Record.

That growth didn't come from micromanaging, Weaver told LinkedIn's "This Is Working" video series last week.

"I have two things that everyone in the company knows," said Weaver. "One is called HBU: highest and best use of time. So if it is not my highest and best use of time, it usually will not bubble up to me.

"The second [policy] is: If someone else can do it, then someone else should do it."

It makes more sense for Weaver to occupy herself with high-level business duties than check over employees' work multiple times per day or dictate how people should complete their tasks.

"Micromanaging does not work," Weaver said. "I have built this entire company on 'intrapreneurs.' Everyone owns their jobs. They own their descriptions fully, and I don't bother that. I hire the best and I get out of their way."

Weaver's mindset echoes that of billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban. Earlier this year, Cuban wrote that while new employees may require some hand-holding to understand company flow and culture, afterward, you should let them do their jobs. If you're micromanaging, something's wrong, he added.

"Micromanage early. Trust the process or fix what's broken if you always have to micromanage," Cuban wrote in March, on social media platform X.

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Pretty darn good list. Agree with all but micromanage

Micromanage early Trust the process or fix what’s broken if you always have to micromanage https://t.co/sIsBaGtV4p

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) March 11, 2024

Seventy-three percent of workers consider micromanagement to be the biggest workplace red flag, saying it contributes to negative and anxious feelings, according to an August 2023 survey from job platform Monster. Forty-six percent said they'd leave their job because of it.

If you're unsure of how to handle your micromanaging boss, try over-communicating. Anticipate what concerns or questions they may have and answer them before they get the chance to ask, according to bestselling author and New York University professor Suzy Welch.

"Swamp them with evidence of your competence and character," she said in 2019. "Tell them what you're doing all the time. Eliminate every possible surprise. And most important of all, don't screw up."

For Weaver, running a company is already like "slaying dragons," and worrying about other people's duties would just add stress. Being a good boss means putting the best, most-qualified talent in place to handle the rest, she said.

"What comes to me are only the things that no one else can do," said Weaver.

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