My CEO Life

Here is a great question

“i am doing a project for school and it says pick your dream job and describe the requirements for that job…i choose the ceo of microsoft and its hard to find the requirements needed…so if you could please help me!”

Firstly, i am doing my dream job.  I love running a business, building new things everyday, competing like mad and working with a great team to change our little part of the world.

So what are the requirements to be a great Chief Executive?  (Not a simple question)

My first thought is that there is no template.  Each CEO has a different way of doing things and they probably come from very different back grounds.

However i believe that there are common traits among great CEO’s - these are:

Vision

Great CEO’s have an absolute clarity in their vision for the business.  The clearly define where the business is going and then ensure that everything they do is in that direction.  The are as much successful for what they do as they are for what they don’t do - ie what do they say NO to.

Passion

Passion is critical to the success of any business and passion starts at the top.  Great CEO’s work like mad, love what they do, don’t really care about how much they get paid and take everything very personally.  It is their business, their baby and they want nothing to get in their way of success.

Leadership

Great CEO’s have amazing leadership.  They know how to get the most out of people without even really trying.  The motivate and incent people by their presence.  They are sometimes larger than life in a business and the earn the respect of those around them.

Decisive

I also think great CEO’s are decisive.  They use the information they have and the input from their people to make quick decisions that most times (8 out of 10) are right.

Politics

Great CEO’s stamp out politics in business.  It is all about letting the cream rise to the top and to ensure that the best ideas and people win the day.  This is hard to acheive but creates amazing value when it does.

Long Term

I think great CEO’s take the long term view to their business.  For them it is not about tomorrow or the next quarter, it is about the long term future - what the business looks like in 5 - 10 years.

Ethical

Finally, and probably most importantly, great CEO’s are ethical in everything they do.  Enron, Worldcom and co didn’t have great CEO’s for a reason.

The bottom line is that a fish rots from the head.  Therefore if this is true, the corollary is true - great business start with a great CEO.

Can culture in a business be managed - yes i think it can.  However not directly as in “directed” but through coercion, through leadership, and through example.  I believe that the role of a CEO and the leadership is to shape the culture.  Not create it directly but to morph it, to shape it in the direction that you want it to go.

This is achieved through a number of things.

Language - The language used in the business can help shape the culture.  I think you need to be positive, open, honest, up beat, responsible.

Attitude - the leaders of the business will set the vibe for the business.  You attitude determines what is acceptable behaviour.  In business, everything is transparent.

Communication - How you communicate and what you communicate is very important.  Email begets email, phone calls beget phone calls and so on … live the way you want the organisation to live.

Presence - it is important that the leaders of the business have high visibility in the business.  This presence will ensure that the right cultural messages are communicated to the broadest audience.

In short, live the life that you want all employees to live.  Be open and honest and they will be open and honest.  Have a closed door approach and they will say nothing (and probably resent you).

We have no offices anywhere (except meeting rooms), we have open discussions about the business, and we foster an environment where great people rise to the top.  I hate politics and everyone knows it.

How does one make an accounting/reporting role exciting? I was cracking my head after reading your blog on how to attract excellent people. How does one start the conversation to do a hard sell on accountants? In most cases it’s probably the other way round. Any comments on this?

Well this is a tough question but very answerable.  Firstly, you need to think about what the role of accounting is in your business.  At one end of the spectrum, it can be described in a procedural, boring way at the other, it is the check and balance of the business.

So, firstly, we view accounting / finance (ie CFO reports) as being part of the right hand of the Chief Executive Officer.  I spend lots of time with them, trying to understand the numbers and seeking their input on what can be done better.  They are more than just number crunchers - they are the monitors of the life blood of the business and they have all the rights to have input into what is right / wrong with the business.

Basically i am saying that the finance / accounting roles need to be clearly related back to the objectives of the business.  They need to see how they clearly contribute to its success.  Also, you need to make sure that you rotate people through the business so that finance / accounting guys get a true feeling for the business.

Secondly, i would make sure that when i advertise the accounting role - i focus on the upside / the working in the business / the career opportunities etc rather than the more procedural side.  I would describe it as more than a traditional accounting role - “be a key participant of the leadership team driving the growth of the business.  Liaise directly with senior management to provide them with timely and invaluable advice on where to take the business.  Etc … ”

I hope this makes some sense.

Also - the last thing we did we hire a fun CFO.  He is great, energises his team, knows the details and is repected across the business not only for the numbers but for his leadership.  I would start with my CFO!

In the beginning i tossed up between allowing microsoft messenger in the business and blocking its usage.  In hindsight - that was a waste of thinking time.

Microsoft messenger is now the communication’s tool of choice for the business.  Most employees are registered and everyone is actively encouraged to share their messenger id with others in the business.

I personally have around 70 contacts in my including employees, customers and suppliers.  I find it a great way in which i can quickly connect with the right people no matter where they are in the world.  It also allows us to see who is on line and who is not.  The tool becomes even better when i am traveling as my hand held device (an O2 Pocket PC) has mobile messenger installed - so i can contact who i want, when i want.

Here is a classic case of where free technology is helping us reduce the costs to the business.  If you dont use it, then give it a go.