My CEO Life

So, for those that have been following my blog will realise that last week we had our half year annual conference.

Wed / Thurs / Fri last week we ran many sessions for people from all parts of the business.  The whole 3 day event is capped off with a gala dinner.

It turned out to be an amazing event.  All the staff became fully connected with the business.  We covered lots of topics from how we have been going, to how we increase our size 10x, to cultural issues and to just having fun!

The highlight was a run down of the financials by our resident CFO / comedien.  He managed in one 30 min session to clearly communicate how the business is going while laying them in the aisles with deft one liners and targeted comments about staff members and beer.

The other highlight was taking the time to get to know people.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of folk who came up to me at the breaks and over a beer or even at 4 am at the nightclub and who wanted just chat and talk about the business.

The amazing thing is that they are now so connected to the business adn where we are going.  What surprised me most is that when we set the challenge of how we get to $500m in revenues, most said “too low” …

It is so easy to love a business when the team just love it so much too.  The bottom line is that by putting lots into the business and the people, we will get a lot out of it.  I would recommend doing this to all CEO’s.

I am busy preparing for our twice a year full staff get together.  For each of the last 6 years, i have flown in all staff from around the country to participate in 3 days of bonding, learning, sharing and well the occasional bit of drinking.

The first day is for the leadership team and the management team to get sync’d.  We talk about how the business has performed over the last 6 months, what our targets are for the next 6 months and what the key issues are in the business.

The second day we break into different streams – tech, sales, etc.  Each stream has lots of education and training and bonding.

The last day is for everyone.  We get together look at the business, give away prizes, have external speakers, share highs and lows, and set targets and aspirations for the next 6 months or a year.

It is alot of work, late nights, way too much drinking and bonding, but at the end of the day well worth it.  People from around the country get to know each other and form great relationships.  However, a word for the feint hearted – not cheap $200k each time!