Blog – Page 6 – Dr. Mazlan Abbas

Born CEO vs Appointed CEO – What Are Their Differences

Born to Lead vs Appointed to Lead

There’s a big difference between those born to lead… and those appointed to lead.

The born ones don’t wait for a title. They’ve been leading long before anyone called them “boss.”

In classrooms, in chaos, in silence — they step up without being told.

Where others see problems, they see opportunities.

The appointed ones come with credentials, approval, and titles. They’re qualified on paper… but not always in spirit.

Power can be given. Instinct cannot.

Courage doesn’t come with an appointment letter.

The born CEO stays calm in storms. Makes decisions when others freeze.

They know leadership isn’t about control… it’s about conviction.

They don’t chase safety. They chase creation.

The appointed CEO maintains systems.

The born CEO rebuilds them.

One protects what exists. The other questions it.

And when everything falls apart… that’s where the real difference shows.

The appointed look for who’s to blame.

The born look in the mirror.

They own it. They rise again.

For them, persistence isn’t an option — it’s DNA.

A title can make you a manager.

But only character makes you a leader.

You can appoint someone to power… but you can’t appoint hunger.

The born ones don’t wait for permission.

They don’t lead because they were chosen.

They lead because they can’t not lead.

Anyone can be a CEO.

But not everyone can carry the weight of one.

One builds a company.

The other builds a legacy.

So… were you appointed to lead, or born to do it?

When “Buy Local” Wasn’t Enough

I used to believe that supporting local products and technologies through MySTI would open the doors to the government procurement market.

It made sense. National pride. National sentiment. Building trust in our own capabilities.

But reality hit me hard.

We lost a tender bid to a non-MySTI product. Despite playing by the rules. Despite believing the policy was our shield.

That moment shook my trust.

Because sales don’t work on sentiment alone. Customers don’t always buy what’s local, or what’s logical. They buy what they want.

And wants are complicated.

Wants are psychological.
Wants are about prestige.
Wants are about safety.
Wants are about trust in who else is using it.

It’s rarely just about being “local.”

So I’ve decided to stop building my strategy on that emotion alone.

At Favoriot, we will no longer knock on doors saying “choose us because we’re local.”

We will knock with a different force.

Choose us because we solve your problems faster.
Choose us because our solutions reduce your risks.
Choose us because we innovate with you, not just for you.
Choose us because we deliver real outcomes, not just promises.

That’s the new foundation of our “wants.”

Not sympathy. Not sentiment.
But strength. Value. Impact.

And maybe, just maybe, when local technology wins on those grounds, it will mean even more than a label.

Because true pride comes not from being chosen out of obligation.
But from being chosen because we are the best choice.

Founders, Ideas Won’t Save You. Execution Will.

When I started my journey as a founder, I thought the breakthrough would come from the idea.

That magical spark.

That billion-dollar concept.

But I quickly learned something humbling.

Ideas are everywhere.

Execution is rare.

Look around.

There are endless voices ready to criticize.

Crowds procrastinating.

Groups endlessly brainstorming.

Teams stuck in planning mode.

And then—there are the very few who dare to execute.

Founders, this is where you live.

Not in the comfort of whiteboards.

Not in the echo of pitches.

But in the messy, unpredictable, exhausting grind of building.

Your first version will likely fail.

Your product may look ugly.

Your pitch may flop.

Your team may shrink.

But every stumble you recover from moves you closer to impact.

The truth is this:

The market doesn’t care if your idea sounds brilliant in theory.

Investors don’t fund dreams—they fund traction.

Customers don’t buy potential—they buy results.

What separates a founder who survives from one who fades?

The courage to act.

The resilience to keep going.

The discipline to execute when it’s easier to wait.

So if you’re a founder reading this—stop waiting for perfection.

Ship the MVP.

Make the call.

Knock on the door.

Take the uncomfortable first step.

Because one day, someone will say, “That founder was lucky.”

And you’ll smile knowing it wasn’t luck.

It was execution.

Do you want me to make this one even sharper—shorter one-liner style paragraphs for maximum punch and scroll-stopping effect on LinkedIn?

Nobody Is Thinking About You.

That may sound brutal, but for a founder, it’s the greatest relief you can carry.

You’re not really afraid of failure.

You’re afraid of the judgment that follows.

The investors’ raised eyebrows.

The market’s whispers.

The silent verdicts from peers.

But here’s the truth every founder needs to hear:

Nobody is thinking about you.

They’re too busy fighting their own fires.

That pitch you bombed?

They’ve already moved on to the next deck.

That product launch that flopped?

The market barely blinked—it’s already chasing the next shiny thing.

That mistake you obsess over late at night?

It doesn’t even make it to their memory bank.

Founders often chain themselves to ghosts of imagined critics.

But the reality is, no one is holding those chains. You are.

So build the damn thing.

Ship the MVP.

Knock on doors.

Send the cold emails.

Ask for the sale.

The world doesn’t measure you by how many times you stumbled.

It remembers you for the times you had the audacity to rise again.

As a founder, liberation begins when you realize this:

No one is thinking about you.

So stop waiting for validation.

Stop waiting for permission.

And start building the company only you can build.

Do you want me to also create the Malay “santai” founder version so it hits closer to the local entrepreneurial community?

The Road to Success is Always Under Construction

People love to talk about success as if it’s a fixed destination.

A place you arrive, plant your flag, and rest forever.

But here’s the truth: success is never finished.

It’s a road that keeps extending, twisting, and demanding constant repair.

Every new milestone comes with new challenges.

Every victory reveals the next level of difficulty.

Every achievement forces you to rebuild, adapt, and upgrade yourself.

And that’s the beauty of it.

If the road was smooth, flat, and predictable, everyone would reach the end.

But it’s the construction—the messy detours, the unexpected potholes, the dust and noise—that builds resilience.

I’ve learned this countless times.

You celebrate one breakthrough, only to discover a bigger barrier ahead.

You think you’ve figured it all out, and suddenly the ground shifts beneath you.

That’s not failure.

That’s the process.

So if your path feels chaotic, incomplete, or under endless repair, don’t panic.

You’re not lost.

You’re on the exact road that leads to growth.

Keep walking.

Keep building.

Keep reconstructing.

Because success isn’t a destination.

It’s a road that never stops being built.

What part of your road is currently “under construction”?

Every New Chapter Demands a Different You

The hardest truth I’ve learned is this:

Growth doesn’t come without transformation.

Every time life hands you a new chapter, it quietly demands that you rewrite yourself.

The student version of you won’t survive in the workplace.

The young executive version of you won’t succeed as a founder.

The founder version of you won’t thrive as a leader of teams.

At first, I resisted.

I thought I could hold on to the same habits, the same mindset, the same playbook.

But then reality hit me.

What carried me here… won’t carry me forward.

To step into the next level, I had to let go.

Let go of old fears.

Let go of outdated skills.

Let go of the identity that once made me feel safe.

And that’s the paradox of progress.

We want change, but we fear losing the version of ourselves we’ve already mastered.

But the truth is, mastery is temporary.

Life keeps testing whether you’re ready to evolve.

If you’re entering a new season right now, don’t ask, “How do I hold on?”

Ask instead, “Who must I become to win here?”

Every challenge you face is not just about solving the problem.

It’s about shaping the person who solves it.

The next chapter won’t wait for the old you.

It’s already calling for the new one.

So here’s the question for you:

Which version of yourself are you willing to shed so you can step into the one you’re meant to be?

Founders, Stop Hiding. Start Selling.

You need to be selling.

Not next month. Not when you “feel ready.” Not when you finally hire a VP of Sales.
Now.

Whether you like it or not, you are the best salesperson your company will ever have.

You may not have a sales background. You may not even like selling.
But no one will ever carry the conviction you do.

You know the product inside out.
You live the vision every single day.
You bleed the mission in a way no outsider ever could.

And here’s the truth most founders don’t want to hear:
Great VPs of Sales don’t join companies at your stage.
They want predictable revenue, established playbooks, and budgets to spend.

So, waiting for that magical hire? It’s a fantasy.

If you try to outsource this part of the journey, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Because in the early days, selling isn’t about process.
It’s about passion.
It’s about credibility.
It’s about trust.

And no one will sell belief better than the person who dreamed the impossible and built it anyway.

Founders, your first role is not CEO.
It’s not Visionary.
It’s not even Product Builder.

It’s Chief Salesperson.

Step into that role.
Get out of the office.
Shake hands. Pitch hard. Close deals.

Because until you sell, your company is just an idea.
And when you sell, your company becomes a reality.

The future of your startup depends on your ability to embrace the one job you cannot delegate.

What’s your story of the first deal you personally closed as a founder?

Stop Complaining. Start Taking Back Your Power.

Some truths sting.

But here’s one worth holding onto:

Complaining never changes a thing.

Every excuse, every regret, every ounce of negativity you let slip out—it doesn’t fix the problem.

It only feeds it.

If something is within your control, act.

If it isn’t, let it go.

Complaining gives away your power.

Action reclaims it.

The next time you feel the urge to complain, ask yourself:

“Am I willing to waste energy on this, or will I use that energy to move forward?”

Because life rewards doers, not complainers.

What’s one complaint you’ve decided to replace with action?

Waiting Almost Killed My Startup

When I first became a founder, I thought success would come after someone else gave me the nod.

I waited for validation.

For investors to say yes.

For partners to recognize our value.

For the market to tell me it was the right time.

But waiting almost killed the dream.

Here’s what I learned: no one is going to hand you permission to build the life or the company you want.

The turning point came when I stopped asking, “Am I ready?”

And started saying, “Let’s build anyway.”

We didn’t have all the resources.

We didn’t have the perfect timing.

But we had the courage to act.

Every milestone we’ve hit since then came because we stepped forward without waiting for approval.

Good things didn’t come while waiting.

They came when we dared to move.

To every founder out there: the gate is open. The opportunity is on the other side of the permission you give yourself.

What’s the bold step you’ve been holding back from taking?

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