My CEO Life

Well time management has to be one of my greatest challenges. I am notoriously bad at saying “yes” to most things.

However, how do i broadly split my time? The answer, surprisingly enough, is simple - 1/3rd is Board, media and investor related, 1/3rd is spent on people and operational related issues with the exisitng businesses and the remaining 1/3rd is on growth initiatives.

Lets look at each of them.

Well the 1/3rd of the time spent on markets / board / investors and this is probably the most challenging.

The second 1/3rd is spent diving in on issues relating to the current businesses and most importantly their operations. On reflection, there are two key areas i spend time on - people (including culture) and product. People issues are always about and it is up to me to help create the right environment for our people to reach their full potential. Product is critical as we operate in an fast innovation industry and slow to market is a long and painful death.

Finally, the last 1/3rd is spent on the building the future. We have great people running the current operations so i spend lots of time with our corporate development guru looking at markets to enter and businesses to buy. Also included in this is time spent on actually doing the deals.

So, my first insight into what i do …

I think i will talk about people and culture soon - these are the most critical.

OK … i am going to tell you a little about the company so that you have some context.

We have been in business for around 10 years and operate in the internet space. We provide a range of services to our target industry including web design and hosting.
The good news is that we are profitable and growing fast.

We have over 300 employees across a number of countries. However business has not always been going well. A few years back we were almost a victim of the dot com bust and nearly went out of business.

Luckily we had a large company invest in us at the right moment and we have been able to turn the business around and are now very strong in the markets we serve.
We are listed and have a board made up of shareholders representative and customer industry representatives. We have strong growth aspirations and over the last few years have expanded operations into other countries and will continue to do so as long as the model holds up.

Well that is enough for now … more later.

Welcome to the My CEO Life.

Have you always wondered what it is like at the top but never really known for sure? Have you always walked around the office a little afraid of the boss? Have you always wondered why the CEO gets paid a big salary and what they do for it?

Well i thought it would be fun to share the ups and downs of being a CEO. How can i do this? Well i am the CEO of a publicly listed company and have been for 5 years. I have experienced the ups and downs of the CEO life and i thought i would share some of these with you.

So why don’t you tell us who you are?

Well that just wouldn’t be fun would it! From a position of anonymity, I can be candid and open about my dealings with shareholders, analysts, the media, suppliers, customers, the Board, and the employees.

So what will the blog covers?

Well that is an easy one. Everything. The blog will not only have experiences and stories but also will look at some of the lessons i have learned and how they have been put into practice.

I am keen to not only talk about the business but the impact is has on my personal life. Now there is a reason to be anonymous.

I hope this will be more than a rant and rave but will also cover some of the key lessons i have learned in running a listed company.

So … on with the blog.

I hope you enjoy and contribute.