Issue 164, Part Time CEO Newsletter

Hey, it's Dhiren 👋,

Last week, I took 12 founders on the Part-Time CEO Annual Retreat. Three days.
No phones. No Slack. No "quick calls."

I'll tell you more about what happened another time.
But being away from home got me thinking.

There's a phrase new parents hear constantly:

"The days feel long, but the years feel short."

Anyone with young kids knows exactly what that means.
You're exhausted by bedtime, wondering how it's only Tuesday.
Then suddenly your baby is walking, talking, starting school and you can't figure out where the time went.

This isn't just a parenting thing though.
It's how most founders experience their business.

The days feel endless.
Back-to-back calls.
Fires to put out.
Emails that multiply overnight.

You collapse into bed thinking: How is it only Tuesday?

Then December arrives. ​
"Where did my year go?"

You worked harder than ever.
Put in more hours than you thought possible.
And yet somehow, you feel behind.

I lived in that trap for years.
The problem wasn't effort.
The problem was the type of time I was spending

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🧠 The Linear Time Prison

Most founders operate in Linear Time.
​Every hour is a transaction:

Effort in → Result out → Reset tomorrow

Think about last Tuesday:

• Client call
• Email responses
• Fire to put out
• Another call
• Another email
• Tiny bit of “strategy” during lunch

None of that compounds.
You traded eight hours for eight hours.

Wake up Wednesday - back to zero.​
​Same inbox. Same fires. Same treadmill.

Linear time feels productive because you’re moving.
You’re busy. You can point to tasks you did
But at year-end? You have exhaustion
and a vague sense you worked hard at… something.

This is why December feels like theft.
You remember the effort, but not what it built.

And linear time rewards fast:

• You answer a question and feel helpful
• You jump on a call and feel needed
• You fix a problem and feel heroic

But every hour only pays once.
​Stack 2,000 of those, and you get a year that vanished.
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🧠 The Compound Time Revolution

Founders who escape ask a different question:

Not "What can I finish today?"
but "What can I build today that will work for me tomorrow?"

Tiny wording shift.
Massive life shift.

Linear Time means you trade hours for results.
Compound Time means you build systems that produce results without you.

Concrete example:

Linear Time​
• Answer the same question again
• Review every proposal yourself
• Handle client escalations personally
• Attend every meeting to "stay on top of things"

Compound Time
​• You document and delegate once
• You create a proposal template and review exceptions only
• You design a client success process that prevents escalations
• You install reporting so you know what’s happening without being present

Same hours today.
Only one gives hours back tomorrow.

And here's the part none of the productivity 'gurus' tell you

Compound work feels worse before it feels better.

Doing it yourself feels productive.
Training someone feels slow.
Documenting feels like “extra work.”

Your brain equates efficiency with speed.
But speed without leverage keeps you exactly where you are.
Fast, busy, stuck

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Your Turn

Before you close this email, do one thing:
Pick one task you repeat weekly or daily.

Ask:

• Does this effort pay once or repeatedly?
• Am I trading time or investing it?
• Will doing this today make tomorrow easier or identical?

If it's linear, that's the leak.
That's where your year went.

If it's compound, protect it.
Make space for it even when it feels slow.

🧭 Know a founder who needs to hear this?
Forward this. It could be the push they need.
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📢 Dhiren’s Updates

The Part-Time CEO Retreat wrapped last week.

I spent this week reflecting. Processing. Recovering.

Honestly? I vegetated on the couch all day Monday. Completely spent.

But here's the thing, the exhaustion came with something else. A deep, quiet joy. The kind you only get from work that actually matters.

Watching twelve founders do the real work. The uncomfortable conversations. The clarity that comes from slowing down long enough to hear yourself think.

That's why, for the first time ever, I'm running a second cohort.

January 16–18th. Same format. Three days. No distractions. Deep work on your life and yourself.

I have 5 spots open.

If you've been waiting for the right moment to step back and get clear on 2025, this is it.

DM me or reply to this email if you want details.

📌 Dhiren’s Pick of the Week

A quote that found me at the right moment:

"It's a hell of a responsibility to be yourself. It's much easier to be somebody else, or nobody at all." — Sylvia Plath

I came across this while on Monday, half-watching something, half-processing the retreat.
​
It really landed for me

Because that's what I watched twelve founders wrestle with last week. Not strategy. Not tactics. The harder thing: Who am I actually building this for? And am I willing to be that person?

It's easier to copy someone else's playbook. Easier to stay busy enough that you never have to answer the question.

But the founders who break through? They accept the responsibility.

As we close out this year, it's worth asking:

Where have you been borrowing someone else's version of success? And what would it look like to build your own?

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ps: did someone forward this to you?​
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Cheers,