CEO to CEO

Eager and Able

By Robert Sher

The other day I visited one of my first clients. He admitted, “Sometimes I feel a bit bored”. Bored? With nearly 300,000 square feet of facility and a record growth spurt, how could he feel bored? The answer is that he has, over several years, worked very hard at building a management team that is eager and able to handle all the day to day issues along with aggressive growth. The boredom situation is easily and delightfully solved: This CEO will spend nearly all his time living in the land of opportunity, working to uncover strategic alliances, areas for diversification, new markets, acquisitions and other big picture strategies. What fun!

Imagine a leadership team several levels deep that is eager and able to pull the company up to the next level. All the CEO does is to align their energy. This dream of a team is too rare. Too often CEOs stay awake at night thinking about how to deal with a team that has some key managers topped out, some barely able to do the minimum and others in way over their heads. Insomnia would be running rampant.

To grow to the next level, you need leaders that are eager to dive in and able to perform well. If you have them now (good job!) you’ll need more leaders to get to the level-after-next. You must always be developing leaders throughout your organization.

Encouraging Hidden Leaders

By Robert Sher
A tragic event occurred that I cannot get out of my mind. For me, writing helps process my thoughts, get them out of my head, and bring forth the lesson I need to learn. I’m hoping that if I write about the recent murder of Tom Cunningham, whom I knew and who influenced my kids and community, I’ll be able to reduce the amount of time my mind is spending thinking about it all--including times when I really need to be sleeping.

Three years ago, I discovered a hidden leader, and encouraged him. Tom was 35 years old and I wrote a letter to Tom’s bosses that made Tom feel ten feet tall. Tom was the janitor (officially the Head Custodian) of my kids’ elementary school. My kids started coming home talking a lot about Tom, and finally I inquired about who Tom was, and why my kids were so excited about the janitor. I asked a few questions around the school and of my wife and discovered that while Tom was indeed the janitor, he was in truth, a hidden leader at the school, having perhaps more influence than the principal, teachers, the PTA or any of the formal leaders.

Team Fatigue

By Robert Sher
On a lovely beach vacation last month (Dillon Beach, CA) I chose to distract myself by re-reading Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Some distraction was gained, but still, it made me reflect on what I see many companies going through: A long, hard journey to achieve goals, much longer and harder than it was supposed to be.

In the trilogy (I read just one book, and watched the movies of the other two), Frodo and his team (the Fellowship of the Ring) set off to destroy an evil ring, lest it fall into the hands of a supremely evil wizard who would dominate the world. While stopping evil incarnate is a more compelling call to action than turning a profit, the techniques the Fellowship used to keep their spirits up and to keep driving forward (despite terrible odds) are useful for CEOs as well.

Attracting and Retaining the Optimal Team

Summary: This article discusses a long-term workplace differentiation strategy that will enable you to attract and retain top talent, even in the talent shortage that challenges us all in every economic growth cycle. An ideal time to start is a year or more before the talent pool shrinks.

Are Your Circuit Breakers about to BLOW?

By Robert Sher
There's a lot happening right now in many businesses, and CEO's dashboards are lit up with indicators of overheating, stalling, low fuel and more. I'm starting to hear comments like, "I'm afraid to look at that project", and "We don't talk often (the CEO to the VP) and that's probably good". Comments like that give me insomnia.Download Jan 09 Edition

Keeping Control of the Top Team

Summary: In the throes of extreme high growth, a CEO brings in a top sales exec that turns out to be a charlatan. Key flags in the process of cutting through the veil are identified, and the steps taken to dismiss him are highlighted. The fallout from the firing in 2006 and the effect on the company’s subsequent growth is covered as well.

The New CEO as a Change Agent

Summary: A private equity firm brings in a seasoned CEO to dramatically accelerate the growth of a stable, conservative company. The CEO carefully controls his own on-boarding process designed to identify and retain great talent and create momentum company-wide for high growth. This case study details his technique.

Keeping Your Team Focused on your Value-Creation Strategy

Summary:  A high growth CEO builds value by being first to the market with hot new products and technologies.  But that means moving faster than is comfortable for all his teams as his organization grows.  The case talks about minimizing risk on new product introductions and managing the teams that must do the work.

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.

Recruiting the Best Team

Summary: Hiring the best team doesn’t mean hiring the first qualified people who apply. Treating job candidates like customers and taking time to generate a large candidate pool will increase your chances of building a great team.