CEO LEVERAGE - HOW I THINK
My experience is that different business leaders (and advisors) bring inherent – and varied – lenses to specific business situations or to business in general. I recall a senior leader stating “I’m an Ops guy; I see an Ops problem” – that statement stuck with me. I believe that it can be useful to understand the “gearing” of individuals involved in making the critical assessments and choices necessary to be successful in a business setting
Diversity of thought and experience across a team is critical. The items below might resonate with you, or conversely, might imply an alternative or complementary mindset. The intent is not to solicit a “fit” – simply to add color and depth to my background and services
Accordingly, the following is intended to give a sense about my general gearing – how I think in a business context:
- As an advisor, the most important thing is serving the client with integrity, effort, and confidentiality
- When diving into a new business, first learn 2 things: why customers open their wallets for the applicable products and services, and how the business (really) makes money
- From a functional standpoint, I am likely first Finance, then Sales & Marketing, then Operations
- Being data-driven is both my nature and my training; it is also critical to balance and supplement that with the expertise and perspectives of the client, market, etc.
- As the quote goes, “strategy is choice”; I agree. More broadly: choices include where to focus, what is done, etc. – but also, what is curtailed, reallocated, or eliminated
- Related: when managing, growing, tuning etc. any business: resource allocation is a critical responsibility of management (at the macro level, but also in terms of the countless actions employees pursue every day). An obvious statement – but included because I believe that this concept should continuously be top-of-mind, and in some instances should be elevated &/or radiated throughout the team
- In general, start with the demand side – and work from there to the providers, technologies, approaches, alternatives, products, etc.
- The “answer” is usually a level (or more) down – e.g. particular customer segments or pain points, drivers of relative profitability or change, etc.
- (A risky one to publish): I appreciate the value and ubiquity of EBITDA – but believe that having a denominator (e.g. ROIC) often adds value