Jay Rahman

You don’t need more people in your network.
You need the ones who actually show up.

We act like success is a numbers game.
More followers.
More connections.
More names to drop.

But when life gets loud, it is never the crowd that picks up the phone.
It is the handful.

The friend who just gets your tone over text.
The colleague who has seen you on your worst day and still trusts you.
The family member who believes in you even when you sound unsure.

That is the real circle.

I do not have hundreds of founders on speed dial.
I have a small group of people who are on a similar path.
When things feel heavy, any one of us can say
“I’d really like your opinion on this”
and we know the others will actually listen.

No distraction.
No half-attention.
Just presence.

Some of my closest friends are not entrepreneurs at all.
They do not care about ad spend, funnels or conversion rates.
They care if I have eaten.
They care if I have slept.
They make me laugh and remind me who I am away from work.

And then there is my family.
We back each other where we can.
We try to make as many memories as we make plans.

Yes, new connections matter.
Go to the events. Take the calls. Meet people.

Just do not lose sight of the ones who were there before the job titles,
before the followers,
before the “success.”

They are the ones who will still be there when the noise dies down.

Who is one person you are proud to have in your corner?
🔒Save this for later
♻️ Repost to help someone who needs it
▶️ Follow Jay Rahman for more

Stop lying about your "greatest asset".
If you aren't training them or trusting them, they aren't assets to you.

They are liabilities you resent paying for.
Most companies say, “Our people are our greatest asset.”
If you want a strong business, stop obsessing over performance first.

Start with the people.
It isn’t rocket science:
- Train them.
- Trust them.
- Take care of them.

Here are 5 simple ways leaders actually do that 👇
1️⃣ Train them like they’re staying
Most firms “save money” by skipping development… then burn it later on mistakes and turnover.
Teams that are learning move faster, sell better, solve more.💡 Treat development like a KPI, not a perk.

2️⃣ Build a culture people don’t want to escape from
People rarely leave just for salary.
They leave for gossip, blame, and leaders who look the other way.
💡 Make it mission-driven and psychologically safe, not fear-driven and political.

3️⃣ Give real ownership, not fake accountability
If every decision needs your approval, you don’t have a team, you have a queue.
People stay where they feel trusted, not babysat.
💡 Hand over autonomy. Let them make mistakes and grow.

4️⃣ Lead with empathy, not ego
You don’t have to be a therapist.
You just have to care when people are clearly not okay.
💡 Listen properly. Check in directly and indirectly. Small conversations prevent big problems.

5️⃣ Protect their well-being like you protect your revenue
Burnout looks productive… until it isn’t.
Tired people don’t do their best thinking. Or their best work.
💡 Balance workloads. Stop dumping everything on your
best people “because they’ll get it done”.

Take care of your team long before you need them to “step up”.
They’re the ones holding your business together when things get messy.

💭 Which of these do leaders talk about the most in your world… and actually live the least?

🔒Save this for later
♻️ Repost to help someone who needs it
▶️ Follow Jay Rahman for more

Your words are either coaching your team
or quietly crushing them.

Picture this:
A status meeting is running late.
Deadlines are tight. Tension is high.

Someone raises a concern and the manager cuts in:
❌ “That’s not how we do things here.”
❌ “You’re overthinking it. Just follow instructions.”
❌ “Others manage fine. Why can’t you?”

You can almost hear the energy drain from the room.
Cameras click off.
Ideas die in people’s throats.

Everyone does the minimum and protects themselves.
Not because they’re lazy.
Because it suddenly feels unsafe to try.

Now flip it.
Same pressure. Same deadline. Different language:
✅ “I’d love to hear your ideas on how we can improve this.”
✅ “This is solid progress, let’s refine it together.”
✅ “You’re a valuable part of the team. Let’s figure this out.”

People lean in.
They admit blockers.
They take ownership.
They bring solutions instead of silence.

Nothing about their skills changed.
Only the tone did.

Negative language creates fear:
→ Fear of being wrong
→ Fear of asking questions
→ Fear of being “too slow” or “too much”

Supportive language creates safety:
→ Safety to experiment
→ Safety to speak up early
→ Safety to learn from mistakes

And teams in fear mode don’t innovate.
They just survive.

Teams in safety mode?
They grow, they move faster, and they stay.

Leadership isn’t just what targets you set.
It’s the sentences you repeat.
“Don’t question my decision” builds robots.
“What do you think would work better here?” builds leaders.

If you manage people, you’re writing the script that plays in their head at work.
Make sure it sounds more like a coach than a critic.

💬 What’s one line from a leader you’ll never forget - for better or worse?
🔒Save this for later
♻️ Repost to help someone who needs it
▶️ Follow Jay Rahman for more