Having access to outdoor space significantly enhances a homeowner’s lifestyle, providing lasting positive effects. As an entrepreneur, I’m always eager to enhance my effectiveness and welcome valuable tips from successful local CEOs. I recently interviewed ten CEOs and top executives in Austin to understand their daily routines and extract the habits contributing to their success.
Amidst diverse conversations, a clear pattern emerged – the foundation of a high-performing company lies in consistent habits. I’ve distilled these insights into seven key habits, shared by the holder of ceo jobs in various industries such as tech and higher education.
Their actionable advice applies to anyone, regardless of their role or seniority, offering a pathway to improve both career and life.
Habit – 1: Always Be In The Fundraising Mode
Securing funding for your company is no walk in the park, and smart CEOs understand the importance of being in a perpetual fundraising mindset. This involves:
- Maintaining an Updated Pitch Deck: Keep a polished pitch deck ready to share with potential investors. It should be current and comprehensive.
- Staying Open to Investor Inquiries: Be responsive to investor queries, even if you’ve recently closed a funding round. Always be open to discussions.
- Running a Continuous Marketing Campaign: Have an ongoing marketing effort to reach potential investors. Building and maintaining visibility is crucial.
- Leveraging Connections for Introductions: Use your network – let Board members, legal partners, and existing investors introduce you to new potential backers.
- Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch: Craft a concise or compelling 30-second elevator pitch. Be ready to deliver it anytime, anywhere.
- Maintaining an Online Data Room: Keep all essential documents – contracts, corporate info, IP details – in an online data room for easy investor due diligence.
- Focusing on Cash Flow Over Dilution Worries: Prioritize having enough cash to fuel growth. Don’t get overly hung up on ownership percentages; sustaining and expanding the business is the primary goal.
Habit – 2: Monitor The Key Financial Metrics Of Your Company
As a CEO, it’s important to regularly track and understand the key financial indicators for your company, even if finance isn’t your background.
Well, having a well-skilled CFO can be helpful in this aspect, indeed. However, as the main man of the organization, you must have an idea of these metrics.
Depending on your business, here are a few things that you need to keep an eye on –
- Cash flow (inflows and outflows)
- Total revenue and its components
- Total expenses and their breakdown
- Gross margin (percentage difference between revenue and costs)
- Customer lifetime value
- Cost to acquire a customer
- Customer funnel progress
- EBITDA (earnings before certain expenses)
- Customer retention rate
- Accounts payable and receivable
- Available cash
However, if you are the CEO of a SaaS company, you may have to follow some additional metrics like – monthly and annual recurring revenue. Yearly contracts’ value will be highly important in this aspect as well. The more you know about the finances of your company, the better.
3: Keep Your Investors And Board Of Directors Updated
Maintaining open communication with board members is crucial for a CEO.
To prevent surprises during board meetings, consider having individual 30-minute calls with each board member beforehand to discuss upcoming agenda items and seek their insights.
Promptly inform board members of significant developments, especially those involving –
- Major customers,
- Legal matters,
- Harassment claims,
- Budget deviations,
- Executive hires/fires,
- Acquisition inquiries,
- Regulatory issues, or
- Cybersecurity concerns.
Utilize phone calls for sensitive matters to avoid potential litigation challenges.
For investor updates, periodically share a concise email covering –
- Company progress,
- Product development,
- Team updates,
- Key metrics,
- Financials (including burn rate and cash position), and strategic challenges.
Request support with introductions to potential investors, partners, or customers to leverage their networks. Nurture strong relationships with investors, ensuring that they stay informed and aren’t caught off guard if additional financing is needed. Transparent and proactive communication is key for a successful CEO-investor dynamic.
Habit – 4: De Discipline And Have A Fixed Routine
Successful individuals, including CEOs, share a common trait – unwavering discipline.
They adhere to fixed routines, meticulously manage calendars, and prioritize their health. Simply put, they are time-conscious, maintaining a disciplined approach from dawn to dusk.
Regular exercise is a non-negotiable part of their routine, ensuring a balanced diet even amidst frequent travels and business engagements.
Setting alarms for the next day is a habitual reminder of their commitment to success.
Habit – 5: Be Calm And Detail-Oriented
Not every cucumber is as cool as we believe, but successful CEOs are.
In today’s fast-paced 5G world, patience is a rare virtue, yet it’s crucial for success. Being patient doesn’t mean sitting idly; it means putting in the work and waiting for the results.
Successful CEOs either handle tasks themselves or ensure they’re done properly. After investing time and effort, they calmly await the outcome, confident in their work. Their interactions with colleagues are consistently cool and composed.
Business success often tends to hinge specifically on attention to detail, a principle embraced by many accomplished CEOs. Regardless of their personal beliefs, these leaders understand the significance of focusing on minutiae.
Whether meticulously organizing their calendars down to the last minute or ensuring every point is addressed when communicating, successful CEOs prioritize thoroughness.
This commitment to detail is exemplified by the legacy of a certain CEO who, with a keen eye for intricacies, played a pivotal role in making Apple one of the world’s wealthiest companies.
Habit – 6: Treat Employees Like Humans
Successful CEOs prioritize their employees as the cornerstone of their business, valuing them even more than profit margins. Rather than viewing humans as mere resources, they see their resources as inherently human.
Creating an optimal work environment, providing top-notch facilities and competitive salaries, they expect and foster peak performance.
During the hiring process, these CEOs don’t demand current payslips. Instead, they offer the best possible packages, empowering individuals to choose what suits them.
Continuous training and development are paramount, with concern arising not about well-trained individuals leaving for better opportunities, but about untrained personnel remaining within the company for extended periods. It’s a simple equation for them: investing in gold yields gold.
Habit – 7: Be Clear And Inspiring
Successful individuals prioritize clear and direct communication, recognizing its pivotal role in their achievements. They steer clear of the “Chinese Whispers” game, preferring to articulate their thoughts directly to the concerned individuals.
Even when employing a spokesperson, they ensure crystal-clear communication, expecting the spokesperson to faithfully convey the message. Understanding that communication is a two-way street, successful people embrace feedback, including the critical kind.
They value negative feedback as it guides them towards necessary improvements.
Effective CEOs inspire those around them to believe in shared goals, lead by example, and celebrate achievements.
They generally cultivate a positive environment, using the power of storytelling to persuade and consistently emphasizing the significance of everyone’s work. Successful CEOs understand the balance between quality and quantity, ensuring they prioritize value over mere cost.
If Are Having Trouble; Talk To Someone
Every CEO should have a reliable confidant.
If your significant other isn’t that person, consider hiring a coach, therapist, or consultant who excels at listening and navigating emotional understanding.
Leading a company brings personal conflicts, often unnoticed until shared.
Over time, it becomes easier, but ensure you confide in someone external to your company to avoid undermining your leadership.
It’s fine to admit uncertainty—just find the right person to share it with.
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