Bobbie CEO Laura Modi has a nightly ritual that helps her stay confident while running her baby formula business, she said in an Oct. 7 episode of the “CNBC Changemakers and Power Players” podcast.
Every night, Modi does a “personal and professional check-in,” and mentally ranks her day on a scale of one to five from both perspectives, she said. The routine helps her reflect and process her feelings as she gets ready for bed, she added.
“There’s moments where you have to take the internal check-in and remind yourself that you’re being human, that’s OK, and then put your thick skin back on,” said Modi.
Modi, a former director of host operations at Airbnb, quit her job to co-found Bobbie in 2018. After having her first child two years earlier, she was frustrated by ingredients found in typical baby formulas, she told CNBC Make It in July 2023. The company, which sells organic U.S.-made baby formula, brings in an estimated $64.84 million per year in revenue and has raised approximately $185.01 million in total equity funding, according to FactSet.
While Modi has always had thick skin, she said, her nightly check-ins help her celebrate her wins and recover from rough days while growing her company and raising her family, she said.
“I think sometimes you have to regulate your feelings and emotions on a wild ride, personally and professionally,” said Modi, now the mother of four children. “The good months or the good years come and go [and] the daily moments just allow me to stay focused and grounded.”
Former Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg had a similar emotional regulation habit while at the helm of company, which he ran for seven years before leaving the role in October. Each morning, he’d rank his mood on a scale of one to 10 to help him get in the “right mood and right energy” to lead the business, he said at the Fast Company Innovation Festival 2023.
His sweet spot was when he felt he between three and seven, he said: That meant he felt “energized” and able to work and collaborate at high level. If he felt any lower, he usually secluded himself in his office until he was in a better headspace to work with others, he added.
Learning how to regulate your emotions is a form of emotional intelligence, or emotional quotient (EQ), that all leaders need to master, leadership expert Scott Mautz wrote for CNBC Make It in July 2024. Reflecting on your missteps and successes, in particular, can help you build your mental strength, he wrote.
“Mentally strong people understand that we’re defined not by what knocks us down, but by how we get back up,” wrote Mautz. “They treat mistakes as missteps and not ‘mis-leaps’ meaning they’re careful not to exaggerate the negative impact of a setback.”
You could take an extra step and write those reflections down in a journal, too. “Self-reflection through writing provides measurable cognitive and emotional benefits by helping process experiences and clarify thinking,” psychiatrist Drew Ramsey wrote on March 25.
“Meta-analyses have found that expressive writing can improve both physical and psychological health outcomes,” he wrote. “Neuroimaging studies reveal that labeling emotions through writing … [can] effectively reducing emotional reactivity.”
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