Thursday, June 16, 2011

The CEO in a corner

The CEO must lead change. The CEO must lead the charge. The CEO must articulate the vision. The CEO must be the company's face to the world outside. The CEO must be available to his people. The CEO must know the numbers. Quality is number one job of the CEO. The CEO must go see for himself. The CEO must build future leaders. The CEO has to define the future for the company. The E in the CEO stands for execution. The CEO is the CMO (Chief Marketing officer)...

Management literature abound with such advice. But, even an idiot can tell you that taking all this advice seriously and together would be a sure recipe for failure. At best the CEO following such advice ends up inflating his sense of self worth to absurd levels. Making for some good entertainment for the rest of the team. At the worst, he ends up turning people around him into Pygmies. Making failure certain.

The CEO has to do what he has to do and leave the rest to others. Sometimes, this may mean confining oneself to a corner so that work can get done.

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