CEO Think: Blog
Reorienting IT From Cost Center To Strategic Weapon
Written by Michael Stoyanovich Technology Principal, CEO to CEO, Inc.
You can have an IT function that drives incredible value creation at your organization. To get there you must first accept that you have this problem in IT: neither you nor your employees think IT adds much value to your company. READ MORE >4 Ways To Make The Most Of Mark Zuckerberg’s 45 Billion Dollar Gift
Leveraging your leadership and contribution strategy to encourage charitable activities is a simple way to step up and do a bit more for the world around us.
How To Avoid Puddle-Deep Strategic Planning
Cramming our strategic work into a short time frame at the last minute may be a common approach, but it forces us to rely on opinions about market conditions, not solid facts. Start the planning process early to avoid a puddle-deep strategic plan.
Calendar Year Planning Rhythm
Planning done well is not a once and done event. It requires research and thoughtfulness. Spreading it over the calendar and starting early is crucial. Here is a simple timeline for midsized firms with small to medium sized leadership teams who work on a calendar year planning rhythm.
How to Manage Morale When Companies Hit Turbulence
When companies go through times of change—whether acquisition, divestiture, leadership change, sales slump or competitive shocks—employees worry, then react, often with little input from management. When change is impending, the CEO (or top-most leader) ought to pull the leadership team together to share the news, discuss what the employees’ concerns might be, then decide on the appropriate message to be conveyed.
Improve Your Charitable Giving By Leveraging Young Leaders
Young leaders often have weak networks. Here’s how re-allocating some of your charitable donations can help build their networks and encourage philanthropy in the next generation of leaders.
Subordinates is not a Dirty Word
Squeamish bosses who are uncomfortable with their authority are setting themselves up for failure. Leaders must embrace their role and set the expectation that everyone on their team is a subordinate who must deliver on their responsibilities.
Avoiding a Career Killer: Subordinates Who Don’t Deliver Results
As soon as we become managers, it’s not just our own performance that counts. Our team’s performance counts just as much, or more. So how do we get them focused on the right things and making the most of every minute they work? This article lays out one of the biggest, most important tools every manager must use.
Winning The Talent War Demands Creative Hiring Strategies
Your company may be suffering from a genuine talent shortage. It may be suffering from a flawed hiring process. It may be one or the other or even both, but the end result will be the same: Companies that can’t find creative ways to find the employees they need can’t grow.
How the Most Effective Executives Avoid Getting Mired in the Small Stuff
Despite perpetual complaints about never having enough time in the day to do crucial work, many executives waste precious hours doing jobs that an executive assistant (EA) could do better, and for a fraction of the cost. Leaders who don’t delegate such tasks visibly show everyone around them they aren’t focused on leading. That erodes morale rapidly, especially when a company is in crisis. It also slows down executive career advancements.
Robert Sher is founding principal of CEO to CEO, a consulting firm of former chief executives that improves the leadership infrastructure of midsized companies seeking to accelerate their performance. He was chief executive of Bentley Publishing Group from 1984 to 2006 and steered the firm to become a leading player in its industry (decorative art publishing).