Who’s doing the CEO’s job in your small business?
Every business has assignments that must be performed by the Chief Executive Officer, a.k.a CEO. Not the founder, owner, or manager; the CEO.
But in a small business, assuming the duties of a CEO is often difficult. It’s not difficult for a small business owner to assume the role of general manager. But it’s another matter to get that same person to realize CEO duties are different from management tasks required to open the doors and serve customers today.
A CEO’s job is to make sure the business’s doors are still being opened next year and the year after. It requires committing time, energy, and assets to the strategic duties of a CEO. Let’s look at the three focal points of the job of CEO.
Where have we been?
A business’s history is like the tap root of a tree, anchoring against marketplace winds while delivering nutrients to green shoots of opportunities. While successes are celebrated by all, past mistakes are valuable only to those who plan the future. Successful CEOs use history to inform, not restrict them.
Where are we now?
Yes, managers know where the business is now, but only from the perspective of inside their four walls. A CEO’s status quo perspective is best viewed from 30,000 feet, which is to say, outside the four walls.
These two focal points are the curriculum and obstacle courses of CEO boot camp. And since they include information also known to a manager, it’s understandable for an owner/manager to believe that they’re constantly doing the job of the CEO. But adding the next focal point to the CEO’s assignment separates managers from strategists, pros from amateurs, and ultimately, success from that other thing.
Where are we going?
This is the advanced course, where small business owners who desire more than mere success—repeatable, sustainable success—learn and practice the elite work of a professional CEO. But these tasks are the most difficult for a small business CEO to accomplish because they should not be performed in proximity to the operational trenches.
Finding the answers to “Where are we going?” is the CEO heavy lifting. It requires exchanging a manager’s blue collar hat for a CEO’s white collar hat. It means being intentional, disciplined, and committed to allocating time and resources to the job of a real CEO.
I’m going to devote my next column to the details of “Where are we going,” which will include what the future holds for the Big Four Factors considered by every CEO: bricks, clicks, people and capital. Stay tuned.
Write this on a rock … Being a small business CEO is not easy, but it’s also not optional.
Jim Blasingame is creator and host of the Small Business Advocate Show. Copyright 2014, author retains ownership. All Rights Reserved.
