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| The greater the EGO the greater the FALL! |
An entrepreneur with a great idea and drive is
unstoppable. They will aggressively
pursue the development of the business in every way possible. Some of the entrepreneurs have even done it
before which emboldens them to pursue the next company. Their drive and great idea do not provide the
expertise on running the business. For
this reason, some companies seem to languish from the founder’s lack of ability
and knowledge. Sure, they can prepare
business plans and slide shows. They may
even know how to raise capital. All the
pieces to create and launch the company are there, but sometimes the management
ability is missing. A business has many
moving parts and the CEO must keep them operating well-oiled manner. Some CEOs
are simply missing the needed management skills for that business. They also retain an attitude that “this is my
company and I will run it.” This
attitude can get in the way of developing the best operating business and making
money for the shareholders.
Founders can miss the signs that they are out of
their element. The signs exist, but most
people are unwilling to point them out for fear of making the CEO mad. The CEO misses them because of feelings of
ownership and allowing ego to take charge.
It is a difficult task to deal with the issue. Ultimately is the Board of
Directors and/or the investors that are stuck with the horrible task. They must
find a way to bolster the skill set of the CEO, supplement the skills by
additions to the company, or find a new leader.
Resistance of the CEO to the forced actions can create conflict, which
further complicates the task.
Your best way to ensure you are not the CEO that
causes such concerns is to develop an awareness of attitudes and encourage
feedback. Remember, “You
do not know what you do not know.”
You can also try a few of the
following:
Obtain
feedback: Taking negative feedback and finding steps to
improve can take you a long way. The key
is to find a way to convince people to provide the information without fear of
retribution. You will not know what to
change without the info! Once you have
the data, develop a plan of personal
improvement.
Supplement
management: No one is perfect at everything. You may have skills that cover part of the
company but not in the other. Find a way
to assess your strengths and weakness.
Consider supplementing them with hires.
One example is a CEO with great fund raising and finance skills and no
operational skills. Consider finding a
COO to run the day-to-day activity!
Alternatively, picking team leaders for different areas may
help.
Board
members, mentors, and advisors:
Trusted people willing to take time to coach or supplement your skills can be a
great way to improve. This requires
having a listening relationship with these individuals and taking the steps to
try what they say. You may be able to
adapt their ideas or improve on them. Always try to develop your skills and move
in an ever-improving direction.
Plan for
departure: The last thing you want is to kill the
company due to your lacking skill set.
You may never be able to adapt to the job because the company outgrew
you. This actually happens to some
people. The best think you can do is to
recognize it and work with the Board to find an appropriate replacement. After all, your duties are to the
shareholders and to improving the company
valuation.
Taffy Williams is on Twitter by
@twilli2861. Email
questions to twilli2861@aol.com. More is available via his
company
website , photo
website, or “LIKE” ColonialTDC on
Facebook. You can also find him in the group Startup
Group on Linkedin. Other articles are in the
Charlotte, NC- small
business section of
Examiner.com.
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