Can CEO’s Really Manage from their Desk?
I was chatting with a few folk the other day about different styles that CEO’s have. Some wander around and chat, some roll up their sleeves and get deep into the hot issues, some just look at the numbers from their desk, while others cant help but micro manage.
This got me to thinking, can a CEO really manage a business from his / her desk or do they really need to get out amongst the people?
This answer is very simple for me … they have to roll up their sleeves and get out there amongst the people. Whether they like it or not, management is all about people and just sitting at a desk doesnt make that task any easier, in fact it makes it much much harder.
When a CEO becomes rooted to a desk (or even worse, an office), they become totally disconnected from the business. The information that they are given is often filtered by those around them and they are often playing political games. Therefore how can the CEO get a real feeling for what is happening in the business. In addition they get branded by people in the business as being disconnected from what is really happening and potentially not really caring.
I found that when i was a CEO i gained the most from walking around and asking questions. I got to find out what was happening on the front line and most importantly what the customers were thinking of the business. I also got to know the people and for me this was one of the most important outcomes. They learned that they could approach me directly without fear or favour. This helped me understand what was really happening.
Managing from a desk is like managing in the ’80′s …
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Nobody should base personal opinion on other’s thoughts: get personally in touch with the business takes time and energy of course but filters never help …
Dear Simon,
This post may look simple but it is really deeper than it seems.
A good old friend always said “my family is business people and that is why I am a businessman too!!” like if this was something inherited or running through your veins, and it is a serious mistake confusing being a partner with being a model of action (in facts, not in words) for the team, which is something to be demanded to a CEO among many other things.
There are scores of companies which have failed due to their CEO being in the distance or because there was another managing team above him which really did not let him work as such CEO. They may look like stories from the past or even urban legends but if we look around us we will find examples of brands we have all seen disappear after they seemed to have reached their primary targets. This is just another way of dying of success.
These situations are very much affected by the shareholders’ (and not the CEO’s) personal ego and entreprenurial jelousy against the social recognition of the real architect of this success. In fact, don’t you think that this is just lack of knowledge and business culture?
In the end, I believe that a CEO who does not leave his office is in fact a manager but not a CEO. I remember having read something about this in this blog.
Great blog Simon, regards from Spain