What You Really Need To Be Focusing On As CEO
As the CEO of a company, it’s safe to say that you have a lot of things to be working on. A lot of things need your attention and you’ll have a lot of decisions to make. But when everyone wants your attention all of the time, you may find it hard to keep everyone happy. However, you have to remember that this is business and you really need to be doing the topline stuff that drives the business forward. Sure, it’s a good idea to know what’s going on in your company, but at the same time, you really ought to be focusing on the right things, and leaving everything else to someone else.
Now, when you’re new to running a company, you may find that this is hard or scary. But, it’s important to know that at some stage, you really do have to make sure that you’re delegating and bringing in experts to work on different things. You really can’t just try to do everything yourself because it just doesn’t work out that way.
Instead, you need to be thinking about your own wellbeing. You don’t want to burnout because you’re trying to do too much. So, it’s a good idea to try and adjust your mindset a little and start to focus on what’s really going to work out the best for you.
So let’s take a look at what you should be focusing on as a CEO.
The Company Goals
First of all, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re the one that’s setting and driving the company goals. Of course, there may be others that you want input from here, but essentially you need to be the one driving the business forward and in the right direction. Goals help you here.
The Bottom Line
At the same time, you also have the bottom line to be focusing on. After all, you’ll want to make sure that the business is making money. Even if you have sales and financial people in place, this is ultimately your responsibility – so keep that in mind and keep your eyes on the cash.
Winning New Business
As a step on from that, you might also want to think about driving the business forward and winning new business too. There will always be ways that you can earn more, get more clients, sell more products or whatever you need to do. So one of the business areas that you’ll want to stay hot on, is winning new business.
Keeping Clients Happy
From here, you’re then also going to want to think about what you can do to keep your clients happy. This is something that you’ll really want to keep on top of and manage as a business owner. From taking them out to dinner or just having phone calls where you know what’s going on, be sure to make sure that your important clients are well looked after.
Managing Managers
It’s easy for you to think that you need to be managing the people that are in your business, but you don’t have to oversee everyone. It’s not necessarily teams that you need to be managing, but the managers. Your managers will all have people that they manage and you should only have to manage them. So be sure that you’re doing this from a more top-line level.
Keeping The Business Safe
From here, you’re definitely going to want to think about what you need to do to keep your business secure. Whether you realize it or not, there are always threats about. It could be that you need a risk management plan or that you have to up your IT security. Either way, think about how you operate and what you need to do to minimize any risks.
Where You’re Going Next
It’s also good to know where you’re going next. Think about what you want to achieve and where you can go from here. Always keep your eyes on the future and what you need to be able to do to get the next thing going.
The Big Decisions
Of course, you’re also going to want to have a say or (or make entirely on your own) the big decisions for the business. From hiring the right people to pivotal decisions that will change the course of your business, top level thoughts and actions are something you have to be responsible for.
Charitable Endeavours
Another area of the business that you might want to lean some weight on is how you give back. Do you already have a charitable fund set up or do you have charitable efforts that you work on? If not, you’re going to want to get some ideas together for how you can do this. It may be the case that you work on fundraising, or you could think about setting up your own foundation.
Managing Your Image
Lastly, you’re also going to want to be thinking about your image too. If your company is big, or getting there, you might be in the spotlight a little. Or, at least it’s a good idea that you should be soon. So you need to be working on your own image and PR and getting yourself out there. This could be a really important move for the company.
The CEO Summary
Of course, you want to be involved in as much as possible in your business. This is your baby, you grew it from the ground up - so it’s natural that you’re going to want to be able to oversee as much as you can. But for your own sanity and the greater good of the company, at some point you have to realize that you have to step back a little.
So take a look at the list and see which points you really want to focus on and which you will let go of. That way, you will find a rhythm that is definitely going to work out better for you.