Are Your Circuit Breakers about to BLOW?

Posted on February 6, 2009

CEOs must manage energy flows carefully to protect themselves and their companies against power surges that could blow their circuits.  Circuit breakers blow for a reason – there’s something wrong or they wouldn’t have blown. But instead of sitting in the dark as the circuit blows, it’s better to be standing in front of the power panel.

There’s a lot happening right now in many businesses, and CEO’s dashboards are lit up with indicators of overheating, stalling, low fuel and more. I’m starting to hear comments like, “I’m afraid to look at that project”, and “We don’t talk often (the CEO to the VP) and that’s probably good”. Comments like that give me insomnia.

I liken this situation to when a circuit breaker in your home or building blows. It blows for good reason– too much current (amps) have begun to flow through the wires, so the circuit breaker blows to protect against a meltdown or fire. But the moment the breaker blows, if you’re in the house, all information about the problem disappears too. Everything goes black.

That’s not ideal in a business. As CEO, we need to see each and every critical situation; no matter how bad it is, so that we can make the best judgments. Sometimes a big problem can’t get fixed right away because there are even bigger problems that take all our focus and resources. We all know intellectually that putting our head in the sand about anything is a bad idea.

But even CEOs are human. Sometimes, it’s hard to take it. Sometimes, if we stared at all our problems we’d just get depressed, and would be less effective in our jobs. Or we’d burn out trying to do it all, and would quit, or start drinking, or otherwise blow up our lives in unfixable ways.

Rather than sitting in the house as the circuit blows, it’s much better to be standing in front of the power panel, where circuit breakers can be observed and controlled. We can choose which breaker needs to be turned off, and if one blows on its own, we immediately know which circuit has problems.

There is no easy answer. And the amount of bad news each of us can bear is different. It depends on our personalities, how burnt out we already are, and many other factors.

There is one key thing that can make a big difference:

Being keenly self-aware and staying tuned in to how we’re feeling, what our mindset is, and continually tending to our own mental and physical health. As the ultimate resource for the company you lead, you must optimize your contribution. Running a business is more like a marathon than a sprint.

Eleven things that have helped me over the years:

• Getting enough sleep.
• Exercise.
• Firing needy team members that drain me.
• Having and utilizing team members that can absorb some of the pressure and handle things without dragging me in all the time.
• A top team that knows when to shield me from some of the petty or less important things, so I can focus on the important things and my spirit stays high.
• Avoid listening to all the negative news.
• Avoid people that are negative.
• Stealing some time for fun and distracting passions that help quickly charge up my batteries.
• Take a vacation, or some sort of a break. Sometimes this can work.
• A family who loves me and is there for me. And my wife and kids most certainly are.
• Surround yourself with some key people that you respect and that aren’t afraid to say anything to you.

Instead of having your circuits blown, be the one in control of the power panel, choosing, when needed, which circuits you must disconnect, all the while keeping a close eye on all the circuits for signs of trouble.

Being a CEO is always challenging and we always need to be at the top of our game. Manage the energy flows carefully and protect yourself and your company against power surges that could blow your circuits.