CEO to CEO

Assumptions About Perspectives

For the past month, I’ve been administering my Defeating Corporate Distraction diagnostic to management teams of companies with +50 million in revenues. The CEO and the top executives fill out the online diagnostic, which takes only ten minutes to complete. There are around fifty questions covering the Twelve Corporate Distractions. Broadly speaking, each respondent indicates whether they perceive each as a big distraction or not much of a distraction at all. Click here to
see an explanatory letter that contains some sample statements from the survey.

Managing Your Maker Instinct

As I tried to relax on my vacation I started wondering why my mind kept snapping back to thoughts about company building. In fact, most of the CEOs I know get really wrapped up in what they do. I now have the answer. It's called the maker instinct. I learned this term at a recent keynote speech for the Alliance of Chief Executives in San Francisco. The speaker was futurist Bob Johansen. He says that some people have a strong urge to make things, and pointed to a growing movement of do it yourselfers and inventors. In fact, they are having a Maker Faire soon right here in San Mateo on May 23-24 where you can look at all kinds of fascinating things that people are making.

Powerfully Executing for the Upturn

This article is for companies in a slump right now, due in large part to the downturn. It is not targeted toward companies that are in serious jeopardy of closing, nor is it for companies that are growing strongly despite the downturn.

By Robert Sher

Close your eyes and imagine your company’s future. You’ve been hanging on since the downturn hit, first staunching the cash bleed, but now you’re stable, perhaps even getting ahead slightly. You know your company will be around for a few more years at least, if the economy doesn’t slow much further. Congratulations. Many firms are not going to make it.

Keep those eyes closed. Picture yourself a few months from now. Customers and clients start talking to you again. They start asking for RFQ’s, and a few orders break loose. You realize that the ice is thawing, the time for hibernation may be over, and your hope for a bright, order-rich world is soon to be upon you. This is the time you’ve been longing for. Is your company ready to make the most of it? Will you be operating from your business’s power zone, where you have the maximum ability to create results? This chance won't come again soon.....

Out of the Industry Innovation

Summary: One way to innovate is to observe practices in other industries and adopt those that will be powerful and new to your industry. This article discusses two examples of this, and how you can innovate in this fashion.

Are Your Own Ghost Busters at the Ready?

Summary: Have a team of trusted advisors waiting for your call. They are all over the world, but hard to find. They’re people that have more experience than you (or different experience) that help you through those rough days and the ensuing fallout. They are a wise sage, a coach, a mentor, a sounding board. They listen well, and give great advice.

Business Breathing

Summary: Most of us spend way too little time learning. As a result, we fall behind and get stuck. Each of us must allocate time to learn and to teach others if we are to be as productive as possible over the long haul.

Using Pure Brain Power

Summary: An executive’s life today is full of interruptions and distractions. Yet the best ideas and solutions come from focusing our brain on a problem and protecting it from distraction. Read about a simple technique to do just that.

The Secret Plan: Listen, Think and Learn

Summary: An essay on the value of listening and absorbing the opinions and ideas of those around you. Too often we favor our own ideas, to our detriment. The reader is encouraged to ask, listen and learn as a first step in most things.

Are You a Student of Business?

Summary: Bo Burlingham spoke at the Alliance of Chief Executives meeting on December 16, 2006. This entry challenges CEOs to deeply study business concepts that authors like Bo present before dismissing them as off point, or not relevant to their own situation.

The Benefits of Peer Groups

Summary: Peer groups are an excellent way to learn lessons the easy way—from those who have already been through many of the trials of leadership. If the group has the right kind of peers and is well run, the cost-benefit is enormous.