And in the early days, I was a weak CEO in many respects. I was CEO for three years in the 80s as a compassionate person and tried to make people be what they could never be. I didn’t take the initiative to guide them either out of the business into something that they be more functional. I think I was really failing. In 1988 or ’89, I got into the Stanford Executives Summer Program…took a month off and went down there with some high-powered executives. All of us came to the same conclusion that we missed in gauging the Myers Briggs look at things. You can’t force somebody to be what they’re not. Also, take a good look at your organization instead of looking at the people, look at the functions and who you need. As a leader, I had to become less compassionate and I had to be a lot more functional.
That shift in my life is what I see all day long in the valley today. The same shift is not applying. And it isn’t that the guys are either being too compassionate, they just don’t understand what it takes to be a great leader. We criticize Facebook, we criticize Uber, we criticize all of these companies. These guys became CEOs like I did. I came up with a good idea and I became CEO. Are they improving themselves? No. Most of them isolate themselves and see the role of CEO as, ‘I’m most powerful person because they came up with the idea.’ That has all kinds of negative effects to customers, partners, employees, and those tend to become trained rats.
When you start to get into a growth mode in the valley or with a technology company, you normally can go out and get large sums of investors to come in during what they call late stage. A lot of the “let’s go spend it, hire people, do whatever,” 20% of it is a waste. Sometimes more. But I’m still being frugal. I have a huge budget, but I’m not throwing it at this spike that we’re going through. I’m part of this manufacturing company who’s the investor and I’m being super cautious about the spend when I probably should be putting the pedal to the metal more. So that’s one thing that keeps me up at night.
The fear factor that there’s a big company in Redmond [Washington] that wants to be in this space and is fighting for the conference room. It’s sort of seems to be a two-horse race at this point. They have a trillion-dollar market cap. They’re obviously in multiple businesses and all that stuff. Trying to stay one step ahead of them and their footprint and trying to work with them because I need their content and all of that is another thing that keeps me up at night.
I feel confident about the technology and its patents and its position in the space. It’s more a functional waking up at two or three in the morning and saying, “How am I going to screw this up?” Thinking about the things I can do to make sure that that doesn’t happen.
Read more: What’s Missing in Silicon Valley Models for Digital Transformation Programs
Chief Executive Group exists to improve the performance of U.S. CEOs, senior executives and public-company directors, helping you grow your companies, build your communities and strengthen society. Learn more at chiefexecutivegroup.com.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
