Great CEOs must be architects who design the direction of their organization instead of firefighters who constantly react to problems,, said Ken Keller, CEO of Strategic Advisory Boards.
Here are Mr. Keller’s three top priorities for all CEOs:
1. Improving the business model. Highly effective top executives do not view the status quo as immovable and are always looking for ways improve the way they do business.
2. People. CEOs must invest the time to ensure they are surrounded by high-performing employees working to the best of their abilities.
“For the CEO, it also means investing the time to make certain that the most capable people are in the correct positions and that if things are not working out, the individual is allowed to be recast internally or be allowed to depart for a better fit externally,” writes Mr. Keller. “The top executive also works to insure alignment from top to bottom and across the company so that departments and individuals are not working at cross purposes.”
3. Profitability. CEOs must remember that they are always in service of their bottom line, and “nothing is too small to escape attention in the ongoing search for profits,” writes Mr. Keller.
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