Bobby CEO Laura Mody said on the Oct. 7 episode of the “CNBC Change Makers and Power Players” podcast that she has a nightly ritual to stay confident when running her infant formula business.
PM Modi does a “personal and professional check-in” every evening, mentally ranking his day from both perspectives on a scale of 1 to 5, she said. She added that this routine helps you reflect and process your emotions as you get ready for bed.
“There are moments when you have to check in, remember that you’re human, remind yourself that’s okay, and put on your thick skin,” PM Modi said.
Modi, a former head of host operations at Airbnb, quit his job in 2018 and co-founded Bobby. After giving birth to her first child two years ago, she became dissatisfied with the ingredients in common infant formula, she told CNBC Make It in July 2023. The company, which sells organic infant formula made in the United States, reportedly generated an estimated annual revenue of $64.84 million and raised a total of approximately $185.01 million in equity funding. Factset.
Modi has always had a thick skin, but the evening check-ins help him celebrate victories and recover from tough days while growing his company and raising a family, she said.
“I think sometimes in a wild ride, both personally and professionally, you have to control your feelings and emotions,” said Modi, who is now a mother of four. “Good months and good years come and go, but it’s the daily moments that keep me focused and grounded.”
Former Verizon CEO Hans Bestberg had similar emotional regulation habits when he ran the company for seven years before retiring in October. Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival 2023, he said he ranks his mood every morning on a scale of 1 to 10 to get the “right mood and the right energy” to lead the business.
His sweet spot, he said, was when he felt he was between 3 and 7 years old. In other words, he felt “full of energy” and felt able to work and collaborate at a high level. If he felt even the slightest bit depressed, he added, he would lock himself in the office until he could work with others.
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 in a July 2024 piece for CNBC Make It. He wrote that reflecting on one’s failures and successes in particular can help build mental strength.
“Mentally strong people understand that we are defined not by what knocks us down, but by how we pick ourselves back up,” Mautz wrote. “They treat mistakes as failures rather than ‘leapfrogs,’ meaning they are careful not to exaggerate the negative impact of setbacks.”
You can even take it a step further and write down your reflections in a journal. Psychiatrist Drew Ramsey wrote on March 25: “Reflection through writing can help you process experiences and clarify your thoughts, and has measurable cognitive and emotional benefits.”
“A meta-analysis found that expressive writing can improve both physical and psychological well-being,” he writes. “Neuroimaging studies reveal that labeling emotions through writing can effectively reduce emotional responses.”
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