Never underestimate the power of being someone fun and easy to work with.
It can open more opportunities than even a great product or ideal alignment on mission or strategy.
Conversely, if you’re not easy and enjoyable to work with, there’s a “ghost pipeline” of dead deals or opportunities that never come your way because people don’t look forward to working with you.
It’s not out of deliberate vendettas or grudges, but a subconscious tendency to avoid discomfort.
Oh, and it’s a misnomer that being easy to work with means being a pushover. Not having firm, clear, direct communication and boundaries actually makes you hard to work with too.
You can be a pain in the ass by being too passive just as easily as by being too pushy.