The CEO Insomnia Factor
Spotting the Bad Deal – Before It’s Too Late
Growing your business through acquisitions is tempting: the rewards can be great. But as many as half of all marriages between companies fail to meet expectations. Here are the key questions to ask before you do the deal.
The Chief Executive Challenge: Has It Always Been this Hard?
Change is a constant in business, but new modalities have upped the ante. Today’s CEO requires new skills and approaches to deal with these four new challenges.
Five Critical Determinants of CEO Performance
After five years as a top-level consultant, here are my top five questions for a CEO. But the path to answering “yes” to all five questions can be a long and winding one.
Transparency Is Not Advised for Future Events
What would you reveal about the future direction of your company or a specific employee? If big changes are in the wind – M&A, reduction in force, or outright sale – here are some specific suggestions on how the CEO and their top team should deal with disclosure.
The High Cost of an Unpredictable Leader
Chaos at the top of an organization is a recipe for disaster. Learn about the three types of unpredictable leader, underlying causes for the behavior, four paths toward resolution and methods of coping if it’s your boss who’s unpredictable.
Compulsive Micro-Management
Many executives and companies have a built in limiting factor, just like the governor on a gas pedal. Here’s how you can prevent micro-management at the highest levels from stifling your growth.
Too Much One-Way Communication
E-mail is a great convenience, but it’s completely one-way. This can create havoc in your business infrastructure. Here are some of the biggest e-mail mistakes, most of which can be avoided by the original and most powerful form of communication.
Dealing with High Maintenance Employees
High maintenance employees sap all the energy from team and upper management. Here are some examples of the breed and suggestions for resolution of the problem.
Misplaced Loyalty
Loyalty to your employees is admirable, particularly when they’ve served the company well. But what happens when their performance slips? Do you have the toughness to put company loyalty first?
The Wheels Coming off the Bus
What could ever be wrong with a strong, growing top line? What would be wrong with running a lean company? The answer: Too much work to do and not enough people or resources to execute it well.
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).