Your Ego is Your Worst Enemy!

Over the years that I’ve been helping people with their careers I’ve seen a couple of types of executives. There are those who are spectacular successes and those who are successes. Give me the one who is merely a success any day, because, sooner or later, the “spectacular success” is going to crash and burn. If you’re a stockholder or board member of a company run by a spectacular success, better hope that he or she doesn’t take your company along with him or her when the fall comes.

I don’t think I need to give a list of the CXOs whose egos have resulted in the fall of once-high-flying companies like Enron, etc. Here are some things to take a hard look at if you’re a board member, a stockholder, or a “C” level executive to keep your company from winding up in the "Hall of Shame."

1). Why is the person who is CXO in that chair? This is a very hard question that boards should ask. Many people are bamboozled by “C” level charisma. Take it from my 25+ years of experience, charismatic CXOs are very dangerous. The best individual to run a company is not charismatic, but a little on the boring side.

Too many boards have been taken down the primrose path by a man or woman with “star power.” Unfortunately, men and women with “star power” have gigantic egos. They like to be in the limelight, and this can, and probably will, mean losses for your company.

The best CXO is one that is taking care of business, not polishing an image. The gladhander who knows everyone is almost certainly going to eventually be a poor CXO. The reason is simple — these people are narcissists. They will do whatever is necessary to get their “strokes” and attention. Give me the quiet, competent type any day to the “celebrity CEO.”

2). Is this person being paid too much? The answer is almost certainly “yes.” American companies have gotten into a very bad habit of paying “C” level executives based on hype as opposed to performance. I’m amazed when a “C” level executive is paid a huge bonus when the company has lost money. While I’m firmly against government regulation of this practice (or any other business practice) it is bad business and the “payday” will come sooner or later.

Pay “C” level executives for performance and revenue, not smoke and mirrors.

3). Whose interests is this person looking after — yours and the company’s or his or her own interests? Good CXOs see that they succeed when the company succeeds, and believe in a “team success” approach. Egotistical (poor) ones think that what is good for them is good for the company. A good CXO is like a good naval ship officer — the company comes first.

Watch your management team carefully and see whether or not the company is coming first. If not, it is time to chop some heads and put in some folks who will fulfill their duty to the stockholders, employees and customers of the company instead of polishing their own image or enriching their own bank accounts at the expense of the company. (Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing against large CXO salaries or money! I just think that it should be obtained the old fashioned way — by earning it.)

4). Is the CXO surrounded by “yes wo/men?” No one can make good decisions when they’re being told how wonderful they are at everything. A good CXO has advisors that will tell him/her the truth. As an executive coach, I often have to deliver an ego blow to help the executive. I can do this because I don’t work for the executive. Yes, I have had executives whose egos were too big to take this. They eventually failed, usually sooner than later. If your executives are surrounded by toadies, they’re not looking out after your interests. If you’re a board member or major stockholder, insist that your management team have coaches, advisors, or some way of getting independent, third party advice. Of course, assure that the coaching team is going to keep your business secrets secret. A good non-disclosure form with teeth helps. Your corporate counsel can, I’m sure, give you an example.

5). Is your CXO constantly seeking the limelight? While it is good to get publicity for the company, the media is notoriously fickle. They’ll love you one day and fry you the next. The CXO should be handling the company or division, and the PR Department should be handling the media (or carefully coaching the executives on how to do so). Keep your corporate officers away from the media as much as possible, leaving media relations to professionals at it.

6). What is the lifestyle of the CXO. You want a CXO that has a solid and tranquil domestic life with a partner that loves him or her, grown or well-behaved kids, and no nasty habits. You don't want your CXO in “People Magazine.”

Executives with mistresses, flashy lifestyles, playboy (or playgirl) habits, addictions or strange behaviors are not what you want! You want the attention to be on the company, not the lifestyles of the corporate officers.

Too many times American businesses have lost sight of the goal, which should be to make money for stockholders, provide customers with a quality, reliable product or service, employees with stable and enjoyable employment, and future generations with a company as a legacy.

The “perp walks” of the early 2000’s should have been a wake-up call to American business to police its own house. Instead, all it got us was SarbOx (a terrible law that does nothing except cost us money and time), and a black eye in the mind of the American public.

Good CXOs keep their eye on the ball and don’t get distracted by their egos. If you want to be a movie star, go to Hollywood. If you want to run a company, run a company. It’s that simple.

Here's to your prosperity,

J.

The Top Ten “C” Level Errors

If you’ve made it to the top you have probably developed a great many skills and talents. However, in my 28 years of dealing with top executives I’ve noticed a few common errors that people at the top make time and again. Here they are, with a couple of tips on avoiding them.

10) Not taking time for your own growth. So many of my clients get caught up in the running of their businesses that they don’t take time to look at the “spiritual” and emotional sides of life. You can’t be a shallow person and a good CEO…or any kind of executive. The kind of person one is winds up being the kind of executive he or she is. Remember this and take the time to be the kind of person you’d be proud to work for.

9). Losing sight of your goals. American businesses are way too short-term oriented. We are far too focused on monthly and quarterly numbers and nowhere near enough focused on the goals of the company for the long term. While your Board and Stakeholders are demanding those numbers stay up (and you must do so), don’t forget your long-term goals. If you forget the long term, the short-term will soon be in trouble.

8). Making “money” decisions. Too many “C” Level executives make decisions solely based on the “bottom line.” Big mistake. While money must be one of the many factors in any decision, it should rarely be the sole determining factor. Look at things like community values, company values, personal values, employee and customer satisfaction and so on as well. Usually if you’re satisfying the customers and have good employee morale, some of the dollar issues take care of themselves.

7). Isolating yourself. Don’t restrict your friend and contact list to others in your same country club or who have “C” in their title. This is incredibly isolating and incredibly stupid, as well. Your friends and networking list should consist of people at many walks of life and with many titles (or no title at all). And don’t stop attending networking functions and professional associations and mingling with everyone. It is vital to your career.

6). Living an ostentatious life. There is an old saying that goes “Live simply so others may simply live.” Those of us who make large sums of money have a responsibility to the community and to others. There is nothing wrong with having a nice house, good cars, etc., but only a very shallow person lives his or her to obtain these things. They should be “perks” along the way of a life well lived.

Besides which, an ostentatious lifestyle takes lots of energy to maintain — energy you could be using for other things. Live a nice life, but a simple one. Have nice things, but don’t burden yourself with tons of “stuff.” Make the driver to be successful an internal one rather than being driven by mere acquisition.

5). Losing touch with your staff and employees. Don’t barricade yourself in your office. You should know a bit about each employee, including the custodian and be able to chat with each and every one of them. Learn the “Farley File” system (more on this in a later post) and use it. People will go to the wall for a CEO who asks how their kids are doing and really listens and cares. People are loyal to people, not to corporations. Make your people fanatic about you by caring deeply (honestly) about them, and showing it often.

4). Losing touch with your customers. Clement Stone, the mentor of Napoleon Hill and founder of one of the largest life insurance companies in the world answered his own phone and had his door open. What a great man! He never wanted to lose touch with those who “paid his salary.” Neither do you.

3). Surrounding yourself with “yes” people. Surround yourself with people who will tell you that your fly’s open if it is. Also have a “consigliere” like the Godfather did — a trusted outside “third party” advisor who isn’t afraid to tell you things like they are. A skilled executive coach who is used to dealing with “C” Level executives can be worth his or her weight in gold. You can’t make good decisions if you are always being told that you’re right.

2). Trusting the wrong people. Don’t keep a snake in your t-shirt or bra. They bite. A sycophant will turn on you sooner or later. Someone who steals for you will steal from you. Someone who lies for you will lie to you. Remember this.

And the top number one error “C” Level executives make is:

Pride. Humility is absolutely essential to success as a “C” Level executive. Remember where you came from, who you are, and that you get dressed just like everyone else in the morning, even if it is in better clothes. Remember that you’re running a business, not a Universe, and that you do not walk on water, heal occasional lepers or levitate on alternate Saturdays. You are just a plain old person who was born naked and who turn to dust in the ground. Your title and money and authority are, in the grand scheme of things, meaningless. Ask any CEO who has lost a beloved spouse or child if they wouldn’t trade all of their money and titles for one more day with that person and put some things into perspective.

This blog will have a new article about once a week or so. Please feel free to subscribe if you enjoyed this article. I intend to give some very blunt and hard-hitting advice on this weekly blog. If you find this sort of advice offensive, I will really push your buttons and you probably shouldn’t read this. But if you want to cut through the happy horsepucky you usually read from Executive Coaches, you will probably like this blog.

Feel free to give me a call at any time to chat about an article or ask a question. I also am pleased to sit down with you for coffee if you live in the Metro Denver area, or are in town for a few days, or by phone or Skype if you are outside of Denver.

All the best,

J.