Start Thinking Like A CEO

I recently came across an article about astronauts and read (what I thought was an obvious statement):

“To be an astronaut, you have to start thinking like an astronaut.”

Millions dream of going into space, but only few have what it takes.  Yes, you need a combination of advanced education and relevant professional experience, but you also require excellent physical and mental health.

You have to be ready to deal with an emergency 250 miles above earth, in a composed manner, and follow protocol in extremely stressful situations.

Missions can last for months, so you have to have the right psychological features to cope with living in space.  And you need to be adaptable, empathetic, rational, and adept at working in multicultural teams.  When Tim Peake was selected, 95% of the candidates were dismissed because of these personality failings.  

So, back to the original quote, the same goes for business...

Okay, it’s way easier to take that one giant step into starting up a business than it is to launch into space, but running a business does come with risks (huge for many), and as the Leader, this sits with you. 

My advice is simple... 

Whether you’re starting out, or have been running a business for ten years, and whether you have a team of two or a team of fifty-two, to have a successful business you MUST start thinking like a CEO.

Small business owners are visionaries; we like shiny new things, get easily distracted, and are always ready to roll up our sleeves and react.  These are GREAT traits for generating ideas, identifying new opportunities, and for self-development. 

I’m not suggesting we stifle our entrepreneurial spirit, ideology, or even our culture, but these traits lead to frustration and confusion when looking to grow or scale a business.

As a former CEO at a plc in charge of 130+ people, here are my top 5 ways to help you start to Think, Act and Behave like a CEO (and they’re habits you can start doing right now).

# 1 – Think BIG

Don’t limit yourself to a ‘small-business’ mentality, or to your current market size.

And don't base decisions on where you are - base them on what you want to become.  One of the first things I ask clients is what type of company they want to become - £1m a year turnover? £2m? £5m? £10m?

The decisions you make as a £200k-a-year business are different to one that turns over £5m. If you want to become a £5m business - start thinking like one.

# 2 – Don’t hang onto ‘dead wood’ just because they’re your friends

It’s time to stop worrying about that friend or family member you’ve had in your business for years who simply isn’t performing. In fact, they may even be dragging your most willing workers down.

# 3 – Structure, Structure, Structure

You’re not Google or IBM, but a simple structure with clearly defined roles is just as important whether you’ve a workforce of five or 5,000.

# 4 – Work on your Burger, Fries + Coke

Love them of loathe them, McDonald’s are masters at systems and processes, after all they consistently serve more than 69 million people every day worldwide.  As you grow, you’ll soon realise it’s the system that delivers the results – not the people.

# 5 – Be Alert to Everything 

Even if you have all of the above in place, if you have no means of measuring then you’re setting yourself up for failure.  It amazes me how many business owners, even lots of sizeable companies, don’t know how they’re performing until their accountant presents them with a set of year-end figures, often 12-18 months down the road.  How can you possibly deal with a problem that far in the past?  You need to have real time alarms and alerts in place (not just KPIs for the sake of it).

Whilst we don’t face the risk of radiation, extreme temperatures, and high-speed impact that astronauts do, anything worth doing in life has a risk.

And you have to decide why you’re doing this, what the benefit is, what the motivation is, and what potential reward is.

Are you ready to start thinking like a CEO?

BW,

Martin

Martin Norbury

Investor | Business Mentor at Advocate | Author of I don’t work Fridays