“Tag. You’re it. Blame game over. As the CEO, you’re the one ultimately responsible. Suck it up and realize that you make mistakes. Not you? Think again.”
The quote above is the headline on a piece of junk mail I received for an upcoming conference here in Denver called CEOfocus: 51 Fatal Business Errors. The conference takes place August 22nd in Denver and it looks like there are dates nationwide. Let’s take a moment to further examine 5 of the 51 fatal business errors presented in this amazing piece of junk mail:
I work in my Business
You work daily in your business to get the job done. Whatever task needs doing, you do it no matter what. That tactical approach won’t get you anything but long hours, stagnant sales and a non-existent personal life. Work ON your business, not IN your business. Start thinking strategically and the future will take care of itself.
No one else can do (fill in the blank) as well as I can
Your ego can hurt you and your business. It gets in the way of realizing that you’re supposed to be the leader, not the only one who can do the job. Does Donald Trump deal the cards at the blackjack table? No, and neither should you. Start leading and stop working.
Democracy is important in my workplace
Open door policies only let in the flies and other pests. A well-run business isn’t a democracy. It’s a well-designed structure with a hierarchy that needs to be followed. Yep, business is more like the military. After all, you are the Chief Executive OFFICER.
As a busy worker bee, I get the most honey
With that attitude, you may reach the honey first but you won’t have that much if you’re away from the hive so often. Your role is the Queen (or King) Bee – delegate from your hive, have others do the work. Get lazy.
I spell success: $UCCE$$
Profits – that’s what good business is all about. You’re right. However, looking only at the profit margin won’t get you to the biggest bottom line. Pick five non financial critical performance measures and they will accurately predict profits. If you select the right five, the bottom line will take care of itself.
This has to be the best piece of junk mail ever. Being the leader of a startup I can resonate with many of these points. I think most early stage CEOs probably struggle with at least a few of these. The main thing is to keep plugging along building a team of highly skilled people and then continue teaching them everything you know so you can keep working ON the business instead of working IN the business! Enough already – go register!
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