Category Archives: CEO Shoptalk

10/4/21

CEO Shoptalk — CEO Self Help, Self Appraisal

I am a huge fan of routine, standard operating procedures, process development/management, and ritual.

I am also a big fan of regular, rigorous Performance Appraisal and, in particular, Boards of Directors appraising the performance of their CEOs, and CEOs demanding an in-depth appraisal by the Board (subset of the Board is fine, try to get someone who has CEO experience on the committee).

Lazy, cowardly Boards of Directors ignore this critical professional development duty. Shame on you.

Pro tip: The methodology, timing, process of CEO Performance Appraisal belongs in any  competent Employment Agreement and professional boards/CEOs have Employment Agreements.

I am not a fan of trendy things like 360 Degree Performance Appraisals — I like bare knuckled, in your face, straightforward performance appraisal.

One of the things I practiced in 33 years of CEO-ing public and private companies, and I preach to CEOs is self appraisal. Nobody judges us as tough as we do ourselves. Think about that for a second.

CEO readying herself for performance self-appraisal.

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10/4/21

Loyalty

Comes to the front of my mind on this bluebird day in Austin By God Texas the subject of loyalty — a strong feeling of allegiance or fidelity to a person or a cause that results in a sense of heightened duty or devoted attachment.

In school, the military, business, and family, I have been exposed to extraordinary examples of loyalty, been the beneficiary of loyalty, been loyal.

The Virginia Military Institute

There is no more loyal bunch of alumni on the planet than those of my alma mater, The Virginia Military Institute.

Stonewall Jackson, former prof at VMI, guarding the parade ground overseeing the Rockbridge Battery (Mexican War, Civil War vets) Matthew, Mark, Luke, John in front of Jackson Arch wherein is inscribed the inspiring phrase, “You may be whatever you resolve to be.”

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08/23/21

CEO Shoptalk – Executive Decision-making

One of the things that strikes new CEOs is how bloody many decisions there are to make to run a startup and a fledgling business to say nothing of one that survives the trip from the cradle to the marketplace.

I have read that a CEO makes more decisions in a day than CEOs did in prior times in a month — prior times being defined as pre-personal computer and Internet.

I was in business before the PC and the Internet and I totally agree with that assessment. No big surprise there, right?

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06/1/21

CEO Shoptalk — You Will Learn

About five years ago, I had a chat with the younger brother of a successful CEO. The older brother was a friend of mine of longstanding and through him I met the younger brother.

The younger brother was in awe of his big brother — All State Basketball First Team kind of awe. We got to talking about his brother, the CEO/Founder, in that capacity. He was, admittedly, very good. Plus, he was a good guy with that aura of a winner that guys like that have.

“I could never do what he does,” said brother younger. “He just knows what to do. He’s a natural.” It was a serious lament, so I told him the following:

 1. No CEO/Founder ever knew everything he/she needed to know before they started the company even if it is their fifth company.

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05/9/21

CEO Shoptalk — No LSD Before Investor Meetings

Comes now the strange case of Justin Zhu, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Iterable (email marketing firm).

Justin complains of the fact that he believes he was replaced as CEO because he microdosed with LSD before a key investors’ meeting during which he says he saw “numbers and images swelling and shrinking on the screen” and that his body felt like it was melting.

Who really knows?

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04/26/21

CEO Shoptalk — Initiative

When a startup reaches year three it is no longer crawling in the crawl, walk, run continuum. It has survived the danger zone (imagine Top Gun soundtrack of Danger Zone) in which most companies fail.

“Highway to the Danger Zone, CEOs. Listen up,” says Maverick.

If it is typical, it has a well developed product or service — well beyond Minimum Viable Product — and if it is in the commerce space it may have sales of as much as $10,000,000. It is likely profitable and if the growth rate continues, it will be very profitable.

With success comes a new set of problems and many times they are related to staff. Has the staff grown at the same rate as the company? Can the staff you hired when the company was a seed run this larger and more complex enterprise? It happens all the time.

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02/6/21

CEO Shoptalk — Good v Evil (Or, The Message At Midnight From The Garden Of Good & Evil)

If you are not a CEO, stop reading and move on. CEO Shoptalk is for CEOs only and, of course, you. Because you are special and one day you will also be a CEO, so read on, Alphonse.

The other day I get into a chat with not one, but two CEOs about the same issue I spoke of the other day, Performance Appraisal.

We are discussing the performance of someone who is clearly not a superstar, but is a solid utility infielder meaning they are not going to be promoted any time soon, but they are also not going to be fired.

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