STRATEGY IS 365 DAYS OF EXECUTION - FRAME THIS AND CHECK WHETHER YOUR ACTIONS MATCH YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN

 

Roles of CEOs are becoming a vast and a critical subject in the realm of management

 THE  TEETHING TROUBLES

OF A FIRST- TIME  CEO

 

Roles of CEOs are becoming a vast and a critical subject in the realm of management with lots of potential for further research due to severe global competitions, unwieldy growth and interdependency, greater awareness and expectations on the parts of customers and stake holders (including share holders) and much sharper public eye of surveillance over the corporations. Accelerated rate of change and its enormity compel CEOs not to make mistakes on one hand and on the other, become more effective and more precise.

 

The CEO is becoming more and more accountable not only for the short term impact he creates but also for the long term implications even after he has long gone. A good CEO should be able to shape up the future of the company. He is supposed to provide a body and character to the organization he leads and help sustain them in great shape and spirit. A CEO has to give directions to all the organizational actions and be responsible for the overall results. He has to set a tone to build up an ethically and legally sound organization and oversee that it remains so all the time. Wrong decisions and actions of CEOs can harm a large body of humanity these days, in several countries, at the same time (example: the recession of 2008-2010).

 

Putting it all together, CEO should provide the right kind of leadership to lead the organization strategically, commercially, morally and people-wise and bring about the right balance among all of them. There are tomes of research and analysis on the Qualities and Competencies to Become Successful CEO. While most appear to be moralizing and motherhood statements we have found value in them to groom  young scions and fast track managers to be spotted for higher responsibility live SBU Heads. A trend in leading companies is to have a talent pipeline The best advice we have received is from  Mr A M Naik the Chairman of Larsen and Toubro; one of India’s best managed and successful conglomerate.

“Start thinking and behaving like a CEO at whatever level you are at present. Everyone is really a CEO of his own job.

 If he starts handling his job the way a CEO handles the corporation,

he shows a definite potential of a future CEO of a company.”

 

I summarize below a few distilled thoughts to be a checklist for you:

·        CEO should have the competency of looking at the “whole”: outside of the company and inside of the company. He should be able to assimilate and link together the entire factors of business: people, economy, governments, markets, customers, employees, technology, business associates and the lot. CEO’s assumptions or paradigms about each of these factors should be correct; otherwise there would surely be problem(s) for the company in the future.

 

·        CEO should have a great vision. He should be able to foresee what is good for the organization and what is not and organize the necessary decisions and actions. He should be able to ask questions like what the company’s business should be and what it should not be and then, should be able to find the right answers.

 

 

·        CEO has to be very courageous. Having envisioned the changes needed, he should have sufficient guts to lead those changes.

 

·        CEO cannot just have only result orientation. Equally important is his process orientation. The two together set tone for long term as well as short term successes.

 

 

·        CEO should be great in strategic planning and goal setting. Setting up of the strategies and goals for the organization gives the road maps, mile stones and destinations as an effective guide to its people.

·        CEO should be able to communicate with all sorts of people everywhere, effectively. It includes his convincing and influencing abilities. It includes his keen listening abilities and interpersonal relations. It includes his consensus and team building skills.

 

With best wishes

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

CEO is not a solo pilot but an orchestra conductor

 

CEO MANTRA - the crowd cannot run faster than the leader

 

CEO IS A VISIONARY - STRATEGIC CHANGE AGENT - THOUGHT LEADER- EXECUTION EXPERT

 

A CEO has to give directions to all the organizational actions and be responsible for the overall results.

 

THE  TEETHING TROUBLES

OF A FIRST- TIME  CEO

 

 

Roles of CEOs are becoming a vast and critical subject in the realm of management with lots of potential for further research due to severe global competitions, unwieldy growth and interdependency, greater awareness and expectations on the parts of customers and stake holders (including share holders) and much sharper public eye of surveillance over the corporations. Accelerated rate of change and its enormity compel CEOs not to make mistakes on one hand and on the other, become more effective and more precise.

 

The CEO is becoming more and more accountable not only for the short term impact he creates but also for the long term implications even after he has long gone. A good CEO should be able to shape up the future of the company. He is supposed to provide a body and character to the organization he leads and help sustain them in great shape and spirit. A CEO has to give directions to all the organizational actions and be responsible for the overall results. He has to set a tone to build up an ethically and legally sound organization and oversee that it remains so all the time. Wrong decisions and actions of CEOs can harm a large body of humanity these days, in several countries, at the same time (example: the recession of 2008-2010).

 

Putting it all together, CEO should provide the right kind of leadership to lead the organization strategically, commercially, morally and people-wise and bring about the right balance among all of them. There are tomes of research and analysis on the Qualities and Competencies to Become Successful CEO. While most appear to be moralizing and motherhood statements we have found value in them to groom  young scions and fast track managers to be spotted for higher responsibility live SBU Heads. A trend in leading companies is to have a talent pipeline The best advice we have received is from  Mr A M Naik the Chairman of Larsen and Toubro; one of India’s best managed and successful conglomerate.

“Start thinking and behaving like a CEO at whatever level you are at present. Everyone is really a CEO of his own job.

 If he starts handling his job the way a CEO handles the corporation,

he shows a definite potential of a future CEO of a company.”

 

I summarize below a few distilled thoughts to be a checklist for you:

·        CEO should have the competency of looking at the “whole”: outside of the company and inside of the company. He should be able to assimilate and link together the entire factors of business: people, economy, governments, markets, customers, employees, technology, business associates and the lot. CEO’s assumptions or paradigms about each of these factors should be correct; otherwise there would surely be problem(s) for the company in the future.

 

·        CEO should have a great vision. He should be able to foresee what is good for the organization and what is not and organize the necessary decisions and actions. He should be able to ask questions like what the company’s business should be and what it should not be and then, should be able to find the right answers.

 

 

·        CEO has to be very courageous. Having envisioned the changes needed, he should have sufficient guts to lead those changes.

 

·        CEO cannot just have only result orientation. Equally important is his process orientation. The two together set tone for long term as well as short term successes.

  ·        CEO should be great in strategic planning and goal setting. Setting up of the strategies and goals for the organization gives the road maps, mile stones and destinations as an effective guide to its people.

·        CEO should be able to communicate with all sorts of people everywhere, effectively. It includes his convincing and influencing abilities. It includes his keen listening abilities and interpersonal relations. It includes his consensus and team building skills.

 

With best wishes

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CEO PITFALLS once at the peak , there’s no more to learn, and a CEO may quietly stop learning

 

HOW CEOs FALL 

FROM THEIR HIGH PEAK  

It is lonely at the top. success can become a self delusion. You may begin with a theory that what methods and thinking brought you to this level of success will take you further to the next level. Or you may delude yourself into copying someone's success model only to find to late that it does not fit. Or you may simply repeat the three common mistakes which have pulled down many kings from their throne. 

 PITFALL NO 1 #  A CEO can become arrogant by externalizing blame

Having no day-to-day accountability for her actions can also turn a CEO sour. When things go wrong, she can blame everyone around her without facing her own shortcomings. “My employees just don’t get it,” proclaims the CEO, never thinking for a moment that she is the one who hired them. Did she hire incompetents? Or has she failed to communicate goals consistently and clearly? “Market conditions have changed.” she declares. A nice excuse, but isn’t it the CEO’s job to anticipate the market and position the company for success under a variety of scenarios? Without someone to keep her honest, she can gradually absolve herself of all responsibility.

 

PITFALL NO 2#  Believing in a title can lead to overconfidence

Arrogance also threatens a CEO. “Because I am CEO, I must know the business better than anyone else.” It has been said, but it just isn’t true. No CEO can be an expert in all functional areas. A CEO who is doing her job is spending time with the big picture. If she knows the details better than her employees, she’s either hiring the wrong people or spending her time at the wrong levels of the organization. It’s appropriate for a CEO to manage operations if absolutely necessary, but she should quickly hire good operational managers and return to leading the whole business.

 

PITFALL NO 3 #CEOs can stop learning well

Of course, once infallible, there’s no more to learn, and a CEO may quietly stop learning. Without daily oversight and high quality feedback on how she does her job, she can mistakenly believe her actions lead to success. In reality, she may be doing the wrong thing, but her staff may be working around the clock to cover for her.

 

 

THE WAY AHEAD

The difference between first place and second place is all the little things that add up to be big things on the BIG scoreboard. There is just a hair splitting difference between the winner and runner-up in the 100 meter Olympic dash.  So refine and nurture your talents and strengths. Giving your best on a bad day is better than giving nothing on a good day Super-achievers take calculated risks and step out of your comfort zone. Train your mind to make decisions quickly but with due diligence. Listen to your intuition. Super-achievers have a well defined “inner voice” what psychologists call the self-talk. It’s a hidden tape-recorder you have within you to motivate or de-motivate you in those critical moments. Only 3% of people set goals and they are the super-achievers & peak performers. They set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have time frame set for achievement. With each goal, take time to set a plan of action.

 

Here is a mind workshop to keep you awake at night ! 

Ask yourself and think deeply - What are 5 things you can do today to take a step in the direction of your dream for yourself and your company ???

With best wishes

Dr Wilfred Monteiro