Being a CEO comes with a level of solitude. You’re no longer just part of the team; you’re the boss, making decisions that impact lives, futures, and the company’s trajectory. But leadership doesn’t have to mean isolation. The best CEOs stay connected—engaging with employees, customers, and peers to combat loneliness and lead more effectively. Because at the end of the day, the strongest leaders aren’t just at the top—they’re in the trenches.

When I was contemplating becoming CEO, many people suggested I read this “old” book. So there I was, lounging under the Cancun sun with a breakfast smoothie (fine, a piña colada) in hand, when Ben Horowitz’s words hit me like an unexpected wave: “There are no silver bullets for this, only a lot of lead bullets. Leadership, I realized, isn’t about waiting for the perfect solution to appear—it’s about persistence, grit, and making tough calls, whether in the boardroom or at a street-side taqueria deciding between tacos and ceviche.

The Japanese art of Kintsugi and the modern concept of antifragility offer lessons in leadership. Kintsugi transforms broken pottery into art by highlighting its cracks with golden lacquer, symbolizing beauty in imperfection and strength in repair. Similarly, antifragility, as coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, teaches us to thrive amid chaos, leveraging volatility and failure as opportunities for growth. For leaders, this means embracing challenges, fostering innovation, and building systems that don’t just endure disruption but grow stronger because of it.