How to Act like a CEO - D.A. Benton

An enjoyable read. Was trying to recall the reasons why I felt like I wanted to become a CEO in the future, see if my imaginings about the job gels somewhat with what the reality demands, and to see if I am indeed slowly making my way there. I think I am indeed building some necessary skills, but the key issue now is that I might not have the depth of expertise and corporate experience that are critical to climbing the corporate ladder. This is something that I need to think about.

In the meantime, key learning points!

• Self reflection/ awareness are absolutely critical to getting to the top job. This enables one to continually improve, and is also important because there are very few people who will tell you your flaws/ mistakes when you get to the top.
  
• CEOs need to envision. Some say they spend 70% of their time envisioning. They need to show the company (the leadership team, the officers, the stakeholders, customers, shareholders) the "destination". In addition, they need to see opportunities and pitfalls where no one else can. This is something I don't spend enough time on, but I'm getting better. The key is to leave the operational details to the team - let them take ownership of it, and then set aside time religiously to think. I find going to all sorts of places - the library, the nearby cafe, or even hidden corners in the building, very effective.
  
• To do this, they need to have access to a vast array of information - social, political, technological, economical, ecological, etc. To obtain these, they need to constantly gather information from people, especially from gurus, mentors and teammates on the ground. From all these, they need to connect the dots and "see around corners".
• They then need to communicate this vision all the time, repeating it to people all over the place so that it permeates the organisation. This has to be done in short words, short sentences, and with no buzzwords.
• 9 out of 10 decisions are based on judgement, instinct, following your heart and going for it. This is interesting. Although I also think that to be this good, one has to build up a wealth of experience and knowledge - which comes from working darn hard, clocking the right experiences and reading like crazy.
• You need the inventor, builder, and operator on your team. As CEO, you can't be all three. This sounds a lot like LKY's team.
• Keep track all that's going on, but delegate the decision. Define the what, but leave the how to team. Lack of operations focus looks like a lack of interest! Let people fail, hold them accountable, but don't jeopardise their career. I think I have been doing both. I'm using a zero-inbox rule currently (although there is constantly a backlog of about 8-10 emails at any point in time), which helps greatly in ensuring that I know exactly what goes on in my team, even if I delegated the decision.
  
• Control the resources. My training so far has given me good skills in managing manpower resources - I try to ensure that the workload is manageable by the team. However, I think I need more training in financial management. Perhaps a CFA will be useful?
  
• Be a constant questioner.
• Praise people but realise they rely on different things. Job security, public recognition, material rewards, being seen as the expert.
• And I think this is one of the most most important points. Act like a CEO even when you don't feel like it, and project the right image and messages at every opportunity. The team looks at you to take bearings for their level of energy, optimism and drive. This takes a lot of practice and is not "natural". In addition, learn calmness. Look like you have all the time in the world when dealing with problems and talking to people. Need to practice this a bit more. Just did a friend's personality test and it suggests that my intensity could unnerve some people!
  

A really good read and serves as an inspiration for me at this point of time in my career.