Thinking Like A CEO And A Founder Can Help You Be Better At Your Job I’m in the fortunate position of being both a founder involved in the day-to-day operations at Ucuconnection, and the CEO. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing, and I realize that my work provides me with a relatively unique perspective. Some situations require me to think more like a CEO, while other situations call for the passion of a company founder. But I think appreciating both perspectives can help you in your career. I began to seek out the advice of various mentors, including people on our board and other trusted, experienced executives. I wanted to know if I should look at my job differently, as we approached such an important juncture. These attributes of Founders the company can benefit from An overriding obsession for the product: This is something that can drive many product managers and engineers wild, but founders are often heavily invested in the product. Steve Jobs probably best exemplifies this. Deep understanding on and influence of company culture: Founders have been in the trenches since the beginning, so they have unique insight on the culture as well as the company’s challenges, its employees, and its relationships with partners and customers. The founder can apply deep contextual understanding and cultural knowledge to situations and decisions. Emotional commitment: This attribute can frankly cut both ways. Sometimes it’s best for an executive to let go, and sometimes extra determination is needed to get things done. You can count on getting this from founders. I generally associate the following attributes to successful CEOs. Willingness to make hard decisions: Successful CEOs need to be able to quickly make hard decisions. These can make or break a company. More logical than emotional: CEOs need to have a heart, but they have to stay focused on the facts, and make decisions accordingly. Ability to prioritize and focus: As a company grows, opportunities and challenges expand exponentially. Successful CEOs understand where to focus their attention and how to leverage their teams to move the business forward. Unfortunately, there’s usually not one answer for the lens you should be using to address a work challenge. I’ve found that it’s useful to think from both perspectives during the same day or even the same meeting. But the exercise of thinking in this manner in itself should help you as you take on the daily challenges of your job.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 12:18:08 +0000
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