I got introduced to a guy recently who had just become CEO of his family business.
It’s a big business, too. Nine figures.
He hadn’t worked up to the job like a lot of CEOs do, either. He got it the old-fashioned way: he inherited it.
So we met up for lunch. While we were talking, he asked me a question:
What am I supposed to do all day?
Think what you want about him inheriting the business. I’m sure the guy’s got plenty of critics. But at least he’s asking the right questions.
I told him there are three things a CEO is doing all the time.
Number one, making sure the culture is correct.
You need people to have the right values and mindset. Because no matter how many HR programs you have, culture flows from the top.
Number two, make sure you have the right team on the field.
That means you’re always recruiting, always coaching, making sure the right butts are in the right seats. It’s very much a people job.
Number three, solving the most important issue for the business at any given time.
I think a lot of people don’t get this last one. But it actually makes the CEO job a lot simpler.
You start by saying, “here’s our big goal as a company.”
Then you look for the number one blocker to that goal. And you work just on that problem.
Once you figure out what to do and fix it, you move on to the next constraint.
It’s a very liberating way to work, because you don’t have to worry about everything. You just worry about the most important thing.
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That “work on the most important thing” is called the Theory of Constraints.
It’s from a surprisingly readable book called The Goal, which I mentioned a while back (Mr Beast makes all his employees read it).
And you don’t have to be CEO for it to be helpful. You just:
Write down your most important goal in one sentence.
Write down the one thing most in the way of it.
That’s your only job right now. Everything else can wait.
Give it a shot, and I’d love to hear how it goes.
Thanks for reading,
Michael
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