Your CEO may need to get his vision checked—his corporate vision, that is. Tom Northup, author of the book, "Five Hidden Mistakes CEOs Make: How to Unlock the Secrets and Drive Growth and Profitability," says the outlook of many corporate leaders needs sharpening. Here are some of his top tips for helping CEOs bring their role and plans for the company into focus:
• Develop Strategically With Purpose. "For effective strategic development, there needs to be both a clear definition of a desired future and effective operations," Northup notes. "Break your operations down into people productivity and leadership culture. Realize that over time the sum of strategy, productivity, and leadership will result in an outstanding company."
• Focus On Your Core Competencies First: "Understand the key success factors that drive your marketplace and develop those into core competencies in your company," Northup recommends. "This requires developing a comprehensive strategy and then executing it. Pay attention to the details and document the processes you use well."
• Get In Control and Stay In Control: Much like a dog that walks his owner, rather than the other way around, who's in control of your company's destiny, anyway? Northup says CEOs should ask themselves: "Do you have a strategy and operational initiatives that your management team fully supports? Do you hold yourself and your team accountable to meet the milestones you have set for yourself?" "Evaluate operational performance using metrics that matter. Use systematic improvement to increase the performance of the things your people do to succeed."
• Target Opportunities Intentionally Instead of Reacting to Problems: "The difference between these two approaches," says Northup, "is the difference between a weak organization not meeting its performance objectives and an outstanding organization that is a profitable, growing market leader."
• Be the Leader: For better or worse, your workforce looks to the CEO to set an example. Northup advises CEOs to "make it your personal goal to build personal excellence and develop an environment in which leadership qualities flourish in all employees because of your leadership example."
• Embrace Change: If your employees are stuck in their ways, something has to change, literally. "Involve your employees in discovering the need for change and involve them in the plans for change so they don't become 'change plan critics' and change-resistant employees," Northup stresses. "Involve people in the solution, and they will overcome resistance to change. People will welcome it. Change will become part of the fabric of the company."
• Develop Strategically With Purpose. "For effective strategic development, there needs to be both a clear definition of a desired future and effective operations," Northup notes. "Break your operations down into people productivity and leadership culture. Realize that over time the sum of strategy, productivity, and leadership will result in an outstanding company."
• Focus On Your Core Competencies First: "Understand the key success factors that drive your marketplace and develop those into core competencies in your company," Northup recommends. "This requires developing a comprehensive strategy and then executing it. Pay attention to the details and document the processes you use well."
• Get In Control and Stay In Control: Much like a dog that walks his owner, rather than the other way around, who's in control of your company's destiny, anyway? Northup says CEOs should ask themselves: "Do you have a strategy and operational initiatives that your management team fully supports? Do you hold yourself and your team accountable to meet the milestones you have set for yourself?" "Evaluate operational performance using metrics that matter. Use systematic improvement to increase the performance of the things your people do to succeed."
• Target Opportunities Intentionally Instead of Reacting to Problems: "The difference between these two approaches," says Northup, "is the difference between a weak organization not meeting its performance objectives and an outstanding organization that is a profitable, growing market leader."
• Be the Leader: For better or worse, your workforce looks to the CEO to set an example. Northup advises CEOs to "make it your personal goal to build personal excellence and develop an environment in which leadership qualities flourish in all employees because of your leadership example."
• Embrace Change: If your employees are stuck in their ways, something has to change, literally. "Involve your employees in discovering the need for change and involve them in the plans for change so they don't become 'change plan critics' and change-resistant employees," Northup stresses. "Involve people in the solution, and they will overcome resistance to change. People will welcome it. Change will become part of the fabric of the company."
