Category Archives: CEO

03/19/17

CEO — Learning To Walk

Big Red Car here in the ATX during SXSW, Texas bluebonnets, azaleas blooming, March Madness, and a bit of spring skiing? Is this a great country — Texas, I mean — or what?

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Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush co-existing in the Hill Country west of Fredericksburg. Peak bluebonnet is a few days away.

OK, so The Boss is talking to a youngish CEO.

“I may not be cut out to be a CEO,” says the youngish CEO. “Maybe, I’m just not CEO material.”

This CEO is actually quite brilliant but the CEO-ing gig is kicking his ass right now.

The Boss listens. A lot of dealing with momentarily troubled CEOs is letting the poison out and that requires a lot of listening. Sometimes, they need to be talked in off the ledge.

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03/8/17

CEO Reflections

Big Red Car here in the ATX feeling a little cloudy — ooops, that’s the weather. Me, I feel marvelous. Let’s talk about the first time CEO, shall we?

So, I catch The Boss talking to a pal the other day. They were Second Lieutenants in a combat engineer unit in the Republic of Korea back in the early 1970s.

 

The Proper Young Lieutenant

The proper young lieutenant, having just landed in a rice paddy fertilized with “night soil.” If you recognize those “soiled” boots as Corcoran Jump Boots, then you have a sharp eye. Stroke of good luck, landing standing up, because of the aforenoted night soil.

 

It was a dicey time and they were both platoon leaders. Both of them would end up as Captains within 18-24 months, which was pretty damn fast even for those days.

“So, when did you first think you knew what you were doing?” asked The Boss’s compadre.

“I’ll get back to you when that happens.”

They laughed.

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03/6/17

Advice Redux — CEOs Only

Big Red Car here working on a few wire taps, wait, no I’m not. I’m getting ready to give y’all some free advice.

We talked about advice a lot in the past few years, but it’s probably alright to update our thinking just a little, why not?

So, CEOs need advice from time to time. Why, you ask? Because a lot of startup CEOs are in their twenties and do not have a deep font of life experience upon which to draw to develop their own thoughts. This is not fatal. This is just being young and being young is good. Most of the time.

Experience is expensive. Renting experience — advice — is cheaper. Plus, you can get someone who’s been a CEO for two or three decades to lend you their advice.

Big takeaway — get advice from someone who has actually been a CEO.

Not your dentist, your shrink, some accountant (unless it’s accounting advice), father-in-law (unless he’s an experienced CEO), not a lawyer (unless it’s legal advice), not a VC (unless it’s pitching or funding advice and even then someone who has been seated n your side of the table may be more helpful) — someone who has been a CEO.

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02/26/17

Fundamentals, Try Them

Can we get an “amen” for fundamentals?

Big Red Car here while The Boss is hanging loose in Steamboat. So, I got together with a cute Mercedes Benz from the next block over. She’s a diesel and I like exotic cars, so we had a chat. Her boss owns a business which he started and grew from a gleam in his eye.

“What’s the secret to your owner’s success, attractive MB?”

“He understands, sticks to, and executes on the fundamentals.”

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02/13/17

Employee Retention III — For CEOs Only

Big Red Car here in a Grammy swoon. Didn’t watch them at all. Sorry.

The BRC got a lot of emails about — the difference amongst Strategy, Tactics, Objectives.

I sent the emailers here: Strategy v Tactics v Objectives for Startups << link.

Somebody wrote to me, “That’s simple, BRC. Can you make it even simpler? Please?”

Huh? Go read that. It’s pretty damn simple, but being the accommodating chap I am, here goes.

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02/12/17

Problems and Owning Them — CEOs Only

Big Red Car here on a listless Sunday afternoon. Been to church for a good sermon, wondering if the minister was talking directly to or about ME. That hurts. I think he wastalking about me.

So, The Boss is talking to a lot of new client CEOs and there is a troubling new development bubbling up. Not really troubling, but noteworthy.

You must own your problems if you are going to deal with and overcome them. This is different than saying, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

Go read: Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys — Advice for CEOs << link 

The Boss is always reminded of a time when he was in the Army when a pal of his, in a moment of extremis, said, “Hold my beer. I’ve got to deal with this.”

“This” was a couple of long-haired-ruffians of the City of Brotherly Love bar fight scene who did not like soldiers, a common enough occurrence at the time. The odds were a little out of balance — two of them, one soldier. The Boss was available as a reinforcement, but his pal said, “I own this problem and I’ll fix it.”

There was some theorem of calculus or quantum physics which gave rise to the clash of ideas. I can’t remember exactly. In the end, the soldier (a Ranger School grad) handled the problem quite nicely though The Boss did drink his beer. Bought him another one.

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02/7/17

Employee Retention II — For CEOs Only

Employee Retention II, Big Red Car, really?

Big Red Car here on a glorious Texas day — On Earth as it is in Texas, y’all!

Today, we talk about RUNNING A GOOD COMPANY, the first step to employee retention.

Each post (interjected amongst posts about other relevant and pressing topics) we will cover the next aspect of employee retention as laid out in this post. <<link

It will take us a few days, but we will get through it.

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02/6/17

Feelings v Facts — Sea Change?

Big Red Car here on a slightly gloomy morning, y’all. How are you feeling on the heels of the Super Bowl? Feelings?

Was it SUPER for you and how are you feeling? [News flash — nobody really cares, but the Big Red Car is just trying to be polite. He will get that way from time to time. Not often, but sometimes.]

Somebody told the Big Red Car — never bet against old guys with super model, legal immigrant wives in anything. Sounds like good advice, no?

LUIS GUERRA JR./©2011 RAMEY PHOTO 310-828-3445 NO ITALY/NO SPAIN New York, May 2, 2011 Arrivals at the "Alexander McQueen - Savage Beauty" Costume Institute Gala At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art. PGagu68

Tom Brady, an old guy with a super model, legal immigrant wife. Winner.

So, the Big Red Car has been thinking about some things.

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