Peter Sorgenfrei

Sorgenfrei ApS

In 2019, I got sick from working.

It was a stress-induced condition.

I was sidelined for 12 weeks until my board fired me.

In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.

In 15 years, I had built 6 companies.

I had grown a two-man garage startup to lead hundreds of people across multiple continents.

All this time, I had been missing someone to talk to. Someone who wasn’t my board, investor, spouse, or friend.

Who could teach me how to live a healthier lifestyle as a founding CEO.

A fellow CEO/founder who could help me identify and dissolve the root causes of my stress.

Someone who understood the unique challenges of founding and leading a Series A funded startup.

While I was recovering, I started adopting better habits: ocean plunges, daily meditation, long walks in the woods, and better nutrition.

I started to heal, gaining more calmness, clarity, and direction.

I started to wonder if more founding CEOs had the same problems and desires.

I wrote to 40 CEOs and founders around the world who didn’t know me.

“That sounds amazing, how much is it and how can we get started?”

And that was it.

Since then I’ve coached over 25 CEOs and founders, some with 6 people on their team. Others with 300+.

My clients became calmer, clearer, and happier after we worked together.

Marriages have been saved. Relationships rekindled. Bankruptcies avoided. Mergers and acquisitions happened.

The value, joy, and unlocked performance as a result of working together are limitless.

It was the foundation of the Whole Human Approach.

CEO and Founder Coach

Holo

We were literally in the garage building what’s next in personal mobility. 

Backed by the largest automotive company in Denmark (Semler) and with partners from the US, France, Japan, and Germany we introduced shared, sustainable and autonomous mobility solutions in Europe. Live operations in five countries in mixed-use traffic, we were the largest operator of autonomous vessels, including drones for medical and logistical transport.

www.letsholo.com

Somewhere Collaborative Media Ltd

Resumes are the worst predictors of whether a candidate will fit in a team. Seeing how they work and how they interact with their surroundings are much stronger signals of future performance. 

Joining Somewhere after it had been going for a few years, I refocused the commercial model on companies and sold Somewhere as a employer branding and talent attraction platform based on cultural fit. 

We built a remarkable product for tens of thousands of users in 1,400+ companies in over 50 countries around the world.

Somewhere (www.somewhere.com) has been called “LinkedIn for the New Way of Work” by GigaOm and “Pinterest for Business” by TechCrunch.

Ipsos

Global Head of Strategy Partner Group, 02/13 - 02/14
SVP, Global Strategy Partner, 03/11 - 02/13

I joined a company called Synovate a couple of months before it was acquired by Ipsos. The initiative we had launched at Synovate as a value-add management consultancy to the largest 16 clients was adopted by Ipsos and refocused on its top 50 clients. The company decided to capitalize on the success and made the Strategy Partner Group into a stand-alone business unit with its own P&L outside of Ipsos’ product-focused, vertical organizational structure.

We were tasked to initiate new conversations with clients to take them beyond the services they purchased from the firm. Over time we developed a series of products in addition to carrying out ad hoc management consulting projects.

Examples of engagements: Advising beverage company on how to reverse category declines in its two largest markets; creating a new global competitive positioning for a confectionary client; and redefining value drivers for a household products company

The team consisted of brand strategists, people with traditional management consulting backgrounds, and market researchers. We operated on a global scale across a number of verticals and typically engaged with marketing VPs and CMOs.

Key clients: AB-InBev, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, Ferrero, Heineken, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Microsoft, Mondelēz, Nestle, Pepsi, Philips, SC Johnson, and Shell

Global Head of Strategy Partner Group

Sorgenfrei

Starting my own business was one of the most exhilarating things I have ever done professionally. I left UBS not knowing exactly what I was going to do, other than to be in business on my own. My last name means ‘free from worry’ and I figured that was as good a company name as any – memorable, meaningful, personal.

I thought about the kind of work I enjoyed most and decided that focusing on three areas of corporate need would give me a good basis for building a business. These three areas were Market Research (what can we learn about customers?), Competitive Intelligence (what can we learn about our competitors?), and Corporate Strategy (now that we understand customers and competitors, what are we (the client) going to do that gets us to where we want to be in the future?)

We used that formula on products, brands, services, and customer experiences, and in the process created new businesses and added significant stakeholder value for our clients.

Key clients included: American Express, Capital One, Cerberus Capital, Chrysler, CondeNast, Fiat, Heineken, Hyundai, Marriott, Mazda, Microsoft, NY Times, Renault, Suzuki, Time, Toyota, and Verizon.

It was a great six years, but I wanted to grow my category expertise and resource reach, and was attracted to Synovate (the fifth largest custom research company before being acquired by Ipsos) when they wanted to start a internal function similar to Sorgenfrei.

Founder and Managing Partner

I went to Wall Street to write thought pieces on an industry I had gotten to know inside-out after years at DaimlerChrysler and Toyota. I was charged with finding new macro and microeconomic patterns, new data points that influenced stocks, and gaps in the pricing of securities that the firm’s institutional clients could leverage in their investment strategies. 

Two months after I arrived, the senior analyst left and I became the de-facto junior analyst, fielding calls from investors who wanted financial statements analyzed. I started studying for the CFA, but decided that being a financial analyst was not the career path I wanted and left to start my own firm.

Equity Research Associate, Autos and Auto Parts

Toyota North America

Manager, Research and Planning Group, 10/02 – 05/04
Assistant Manager, Research and Planning Group, 02/02 – 10/02
Market Research Consultant, Research and Planning Group, 08/01 – 02/02

Working in research and planning for one of the most successful automotive companies in the world was thrilling. I joined at a time when hybrid introductions had to be understood, decisions about establishing new factories in America had to be made, and the company was experiencing its greatest growth spurt. My role was to keep the Japanese HQ functions properly informed about the second largest market, and supply the senior North American team with intelligence to support strategic decisions.

Studying everything from nuclear power plant safety, to obesity, to competitive model launch plans gave me a broad range of research and intelligence skills that I would later apply in other roles. Working for the CEO of the North American holding company got me involved with the most strategic questions the company faced. I even got the occasional trip with the CEO on the corporate jet to exotic places like Timmins, Canada, home of our cold-weather testing facility (and the world’s only Shania Twain museum, since turned into an open pit mine), as well as Saturday golf outings with visiting dignitaries.

Having a real impact on the business, I was fortunate to be recognized and promoted three times in 2½ years, ending up as the youngest manager in the history of the company. I was then lured by Wall Street and went to work for UBS.

Manager, Research and Planning Group

Daimler Chrysler

DaimlerChrysler called two months before I was to start a job with them in Berlin, Germany and asked if I wanted to go to New York instead. Having never been to the US at the time I said yes. Since it was only a 6-month assignment, I thought I’d give the US a try. Well, we worked on creating a couple of ecommerce businesses in commercial finance and ended up spinning out most of the portfolio to GE Capital before the 6 months turned into 18.

I decided to stay in the US when we were asked to return to Germany and found a job with Toyota (and 6 months turned into 14 years).

Analyst, Corporate Strategy

Nordea

Consolidating all international internal corporate accounts.

Analyst, Finance and Treasury

University of Copenhagen

Taught managerial economics, accounting, and finance in the BA program at the Institute of Economics

Assistant Teacher

Coaching CEOs and Founders 1:1 to achieve peak leadership performance in a healthier, happier, and calmer way, preventing burnout or crisis.

In 2019, I got sick from working.

It was a stress-induced condition.

I was sidelined for 12 weeks until my board fired me.

In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.

In 15 years, I had built 6 companies.

I had grown a two-man garage startup to lead hundreds of people across multiple continents.

All this time, I had been missing someone to talk to. Someone who wasn’t my board, investor, spouse, or friend.

Who could teach me how to live a healthier lifestyle as a founding CEO.

A fellow CEO/founder who could help me identify and dissolve the root causes of my stress.

Someone who understood the unique challenges of founding and leading a Series A funded startup.

While I was recovering, I started adopting better habits: ocean plunges, daily meditation, long walks in the woods, and better nutrition.

I started to heal, gaining more calmness, clarity, and direction.

I started to wonder if more founding CEOs had the same problems and desires.

I wrote to 40 CEOs and founders around the world who didn’t know me.

“That sounds amazing, how much is it and how can we get started?”

And that was it.

Since then I’ve coached over 25 CEOs and founders, some with 6 people on their team. Others with 300+.

My clients became calmer, clearer, and happier after we worked together.

Marriages have been saved. Relationships rekindled. Bankruptcies avoided. Mergers and acquisitions happened.

The value, joy, and unlocked performance as a result of working together are limitless.

It was the foundation of the Whole Human Approach.

Sounds good? Great.

DM me “WHOLE" if you:

1. Are a CEO or founder
2. You know something needs to change
3. You want to work on yourself and you are ready to commit

... and I'll send you the full details.

Money-back guarantee (never been used).

Executive and Board Advisory

I work with Investors, Boards, and Leadership teams to develop people and grow companies

In 2019, I got sick from working.

It was a stress-induced condition.

I was sidelined for 12 weeks until my board fired me.

In hindsight, it was a blessing in disguise.

In 15 years, I had built 6 companies.

I had grown a two-man garage startup to lead hundreds of people across multiple continents.

All this time, I had been missing to talk to. Someone who wasn’t my board, investor, spouse, or friend.

Who could teach me how to live a healthier lifestyle as a founding CEO.

A fellow CEO/founder who could help me identify and dissolve the root causes of my stress.

Someone who understands the unique challenges of founding and leading a Series A funded startup.

While I was recovering, I started adopting better habits: ocean plunges, daily meditation, long walks in the woods, and better nutrition.

I started to heal, gaining more calmness, clarity, and direction.

I started to wonder if more founding CEOs had the same problems and desires.

I wrote to 40 CEOs and founders around the world who didn’t know me.

“That sounds amazing, how much is it and how can we get started?”

And that was it.

Since then I’ve coached over 25 CEOs and founders, some with six people on their team. Others with 300+.

My clients became calmer, clearer, and happier after we worked together.

Marriages have been saved. Relationships rekindled. Bankruptcies avoided. Mergers and acquisitions happened.

The value, joy, and unlocked performance resulting from working together are limitless.

It was the foundation of the Whole Human Approach.

Sounds good? Great.

DM me “WHOLE" if you:

1. Are a CEO or founder
2. You want to learn from CEOs in similar situations
3. You can commit to 8 weeks of learning/collaborating

... and I'll send you the full details.

Money-back guarantee (never been used).

Top 11 challenges faced by CEO clients

(2, 7 and 11 being the big ones....)

1. Overwhelmed by choices

→ The expansion of a company demands more decisions from CEOs every day, leading to a decline in the quality of these decisions due to decision fatigue.

2. The hurdle of handing over control

→ As businesses scale, CEOs face the tough choice of entrusting significant responsibilities to others, finding it hard to relinquish control.

3. Navigating talent acquisition and retention

→ The complexities of attracting and keeping the best talent intensify with company growth, especially when CEOs are deeply involved in every recruitment decision.

4. Cultivating culture amidst expansion

→ Sustaining a cohesive corporate culture becomes a formidable task during swift growth phases, often getting overlooked.

5. Evolving leadership capacities

→ The necessity for leadership development grows with the company, yet many CEOs find it challenging to enhance their leadership abilities accordingly.

6. Mastering time allocation

→ Burdened by daily operations, CEOs frequently struggle to allocate time for essential strategic planning.

7. Preventing communication failures

→ As the workforce and organizational complexity expand, internal communication suffers, leading to inefficiency and misunderstanding.

8. Adapting business operations for scale

→ Operational frameworks that function well for smaller teams often falter as the workforce numbers grow, necessitating significant adjustments.

9. Executing strategy amidst obstacles

→ Despite having a robust strategy, CEOs encounter execution roadblocks due to team misalignment, resource scarcity, or inadequate tracking of KPIs and OKRs, hindering growth and risking the strategy’s success.

10. Safeguarding personal health

→ The relentless demands on a CEO can adversely affect their mental and physical health, undermining their leadership effectiveness.

11. Confronting leadership isolation

→ With business expansion, CEOs may feel increasingly isolated, lacking confidants for discussing complex and sensitive issues. This solitude can heighten stress, diminish decision-making quality, and impact personal and professional well-being.

Coaching provides a private setting for CEOs to voice concerns, seek guidance, and discover new viewpoints, addressing business challenges and enhancing the CEO's personal well-being.

Facing these dilemmas?

Let’s have a chat.

Top 11 challenges faced by CEO clients

Your reality


Your reality is someone else’s past

→ Reach out and up, people are happy to help, soothe or give you a kick in the pants as needed. 

Your reality is someone else’s future

→ Offer support, listen, explain and guide. They might feel lost, and you will make a difference.

No matter where you are, you are not alone, use it and be useful….

🖖

No alternative text description for this image

I lost myself recently.

Again :-/

I've recorded a few videos on what I do to get back to normal.

👇

Here are ten things every founder/CEO should start doing today. Heck, everyone should start doing today....

(I wish I did 3, 4, and 5 much much earlier in life)

1. Exercising any way you can… daily 

→ Ditch the rigid routine, mix it up, and remember, doing anything is better than nothing. Find ways to make exercise social, like the rise of pickleball, and consider taking a 10-minute walk break for a world of good.

2. Sleeping like your life depends on it 

→ Establishing a consistent sleep schedule has changed lives. Implement five ways to sleep better: avoid food and drink two hours before bedtime, stay away from screens an hour before bed, enjoy a warm bath just before bed, ensure complete darkness in the bedroom, and maintain a cool temperature.

3. Eating slowly, simply and mindfully 

→ Consider access to top-quality food as a sign of wealth. Stay mindful of your eating environment, avoid caffeine after 10 am, and remember that food exists to power your interactions, not just to comfort you when you're down.

4. Meditating in a way that works for you 

→ Find confidence and calmness within yourself through meditation. Incorporate less formal "snap meditation" into your day, even if it's just a few seconds of calmness and centering in stressful situations.

5. Develop passions that have nothing to do with your work 

→ The best CEOs are often deeply passionate about something outside of work. Explore non-exercise-related passions like reading, music, or cooking. These interests, such as birdwatching, allow for quiet observation and attunement to your surroundings.

6. Opening your door more 

→ While many CEOs claim to have an open-door policy, few truly practice it. Excellent CEOs spend time listening and taking action based on what they hear, despite the challenges of accessibility as companies grow.

7. Responding instead of reacting 

→ Practice responding rather than reacting in conversations. Remember that snap reactions often stem from preconceived notions, and take a moment to understand the other person's perspective before responding.

8. Acting like an ambassador 

→ Recognize that as a CEO, you represent more than just yourself - you are the brand. Prepare for public interactions with calmness and consideration, reflecting the interests of your employees, shareholders, suppliers, partners, and customers.

9. Communicating even more 

→ Avoid assuming that everyone understands company strategy and operations. Communicate openly and regularly with employees through various formal and informal channels, and consider conducting regular "ask me anything" sessions.

10. Showing your humanity 

→ Embrace vulnerability and authenticity in your interactions with your team. Let them see your humanity by expressing emotions and building trust and belief in your leadership. Remember, your team should know the real you - a human.

Which ones of these do you already do?

Start doing these 10 things every day

Solutions to the top 11 challenges my CEO clients face


Decision Fatigue 

→ Implement a decision-making framework that prioritizes and categorizes decisions based on their impact and urgency.
→ Delegate low-impact decisions to trusted team members and reserve your mental energy for high-impact choices.

Delegation Dilemmas

→ Develop a delegation strategy that gradually transfers responsibility to capable team members.
→ Start with small tasks to build trust and gradually delegate more significant responsibilities as your confidence in your team grows.

Talent Management

→ Establish a robust recruitment and onboarding process aligning with your company's culture and values.
→ Empower HR and department heads to handle day-to-day hiring decisions while you focus on strategic talent initiatives.

Balancing Culture and Growth

→ Continuously reinforce your company's core values and culture through regular communication and leading by example.
→ Involve employees in shaping the company culture and ensure it evolves alongside the business.

Leadership Development

→ Invest in leadership training and coaching programs for yourself and your executive team.
→ Encourage a culture of continuous learning and feedback to foster leadership growth at all levels of the organization.

Time Management

→ Prioritize tasks based on their alignment with strategic goals and delegate or outsource low-value activities.
→ Utilize time-blocking techniques to allocate dedicated time for strategic planning and focus on high-impact activities.

Communication Breakdowns

→ Implement clear communication channels and protocols to ensure information flows efficiently across teams.
→ Encourage open dialogue, active listening, and regular feedback sessions to address misunderstandings promptly.

Scaling Business Processes

→ Regularly review and streamline business processes to accommodate growth while maintaining efficiency and effectiveness.
→ Invest in scalable technologies and automation tools to support increased workload and complexity.

Challenges in Successfully Executing Business Strategy

→ Break down strategic goals into actionable objectives with clear timelines and accountability.
→ Foster a culture of alignment and transparency, regularly communicate progress, and course-correct to ensure successful execution.

Personal Well-being

→ Prioritize self-care and work-life balance by scheduling regular breaks, exercise, and time for hobbies and relaxation.
→ Consider seeking support from a coach or therapist to manage stress and maintain mental and physical well-being.

The Loneliness of Leadership: No One to Talk To

→ Cultivate a support network of mentors, fellow CEOs, or industry peers for confidential discussions and advice-sharing.
→ Join professional networks, mastermind groups, or CEO forums to connect with like-minded leaders facing similar challenges.


Solutions to the top 11 challenges CEO clients face

The best founder advice you'll receive today:

👉 Stop watering dead plants.

I work with $10M - $100M startup founders and CEOs, and here are 2 types of dead plants 90% of them continue to water:

Stop watering dead plants.

What corporate culture and society tell you wealth and success look like:

— Big paycheck
— Designer clothes
— Fancy house and cars
— Climbing up the ladder
— Chasing validation and status symbols

What I've realized wealth and success truly look like:

— Calm mind
— Time with my family
— Pursuing my purpose
— Stable health and well-being
— Living on my terms with freedom

Play the right games to win the right prizes.

P.S. What does success look like to you? ⤵

Getting kicked in the teeth

Recently, I sparred with a four-time world champion, Muay Thai Fighter.

I was scared shirtless - he had introduced the session by talking about how opponents want to kill each other in the ring. 

He didn’t kill me, even though it felt like that at times.

Oddly, it reminded me of my first company: 

- Being up against the world champions
- Scared if I was going to survive
- Going through the rounds
- Persevering and thriving

If you are in the fight right now:

- You are more resilient than you think
- You will improve and adapt your approach
- You will persevere and become a real champ

Just make sure you protect yourself and give yourself room to breathe.

ps: Okay, I did not thrive in that Thai fight, but you get what I mean

pps: reshare this to encourage others who might have hit the mat and need to get back up

Avoiding burnout

I’m frequently asked what to do when you are getting close to the edge. 

Here are my 12 tips:

1. Delegate tasks

2. Take regular breaks

3. Schedule "me" time

4. Set clear boundaries

5. Recognize signs early

6. Prioritize physical health

7. Find meaning in your work

8. Cultivate a support network

9. Focus on work-life integration

10. Seek professional help if needed

11. Regularly reassess and adjust goals

12. Practice mindfulness and meditation

Be ruthless

In this second video in a series on how I recovered from being sick, I discuss being ruthless with your priorities in life.

Be it the habits and routines that are good for you or work and relationships that are not.

You need to know what to cut and what to keep.

Do you know what I’m saying??

I was speaking with a client and we discussed an ongoing communication challenge he’s facing.

Here’s how he put it:

“People just don’t understand me. I think A. I speak B. My team hears C and then they do D.”

A jumbled mess, right?

But what he’s going through is something I hear regularly from CEOs and founders.

Team communication can be one of the largest hurdles companies face - and bad communication can really drag down an organization.

So, how do we build a communication structure in which everybody leaves the conversation on the same page?

Here are a few key things I have found to work well👇

My biggest business ick:

When companies tear apart their competitors to win more customers.

As a 6x founder and CEO, I have seen all the tricks in the book.

But here's what most people don't realize:

1) Buyers in 2024 are smarter than ever.

They can smell these sleazy marketing techniques a mile away. And you'll just damage your reputation in the long run.

2) If you constantly look at the world as a dog-eat-dog place, you'll always find a bigger dog waiting to hunt you down.

Look at the world from the lens of abundance and you'll be amazed by the ingenuity and opportunities you meet.

Put on the blinders and focus on:

- Delivering better services
- Eliminating bottlenecks to scale faster
- Hiring high performers and becoming a better leader

Why duel when you can duet?

Looking for a shithot account manager (aka S/AM) to start at OK COOL ASAP! Preferably with drinks experience but not essential. Hit me up
No recruiters pls! 💅🏻

After Christmas, I was struggling with motivation and happiness and figuring out how to get back to the life I enjoyed. 

So I wrote about it. Recorded videos about it. 

To share with you in case you could use a spark to get you out of a rut.

I'm fine now, actually better than fine, but it was a bit of a battle.

The way I am wired, there is always some new frontier to conquer, some new thing to pursue, and something I NEED to prove to myself that I can do. It 

Open article: I lost myself again recently by Peter Sorgenfrei • 2 min read

Peter Sorgenfrei on LinkedIn • 2 min read

You need to sleep more (here’s how)

…. and good morning 🤗

This newsletter will put you to sleep

He had it all, it seemed.

A proven serial entrepreneur, now Founder and CEO of a new hot startup in a niche that was about to blow up.

He looked like the ideal male specimen: handsome, intelligent, successful, fun, and a great marriage.

It's a pretty intimidating package.

Except everything was in disarray.

No energy, no motivation, struggles with the business, and struggles at home.

Together, we turned his life around.

Healthy habits were a start, strategies and accountability were next, and finally, a model for creating lasting impact in his professional and personal lives.

We made it.

His company is now funded and launched.

His marriage is going better than ever.

AND he knows what to do when things turn, and they always do

ps: DM me if you see yourself in the above

Repost ♻️ if someone in your network needs to see this too

Avoid competition
If you can't, ignore it

It will not make you or your company more successful to obsess over what your competition is or might be doing.

Focus on doing whatever you can to build a great business and the rest will follow, regardless of what your competition is doing.

If it was easy to be super structured, you would do it, right?

Well, it is not THAT difficult. In this video, I share three things that have helped me and countless others.

Hi, Thanks for subscribing—I do not say that often enough. It means a ton to me that you read along here and maybe follow me on social media. If there

Open article: 3 Things You Should Do To Get Your Day More Structured by Peter Sorgenfrei • 1 min read

Peter Sorgenfrei on LinkedIn • 1 min read

3 Things You Should Do To Get Your Day More Structured

Learning to talk so others get what you are saying is one of the greatest ROI activities a leader can undertake.

In this video, I share three simple things that will let you do just that

Taplio

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