What Do You Wish You Knew Before Becoming a CEO?

If the purpose of a business is to “increase shareholder value,” first define what shareholders truly value. Financial gains are important for large publicly traded companies, but what do the shareholders (owners) value in a closely held small business? It may not be just more money. Increasing value may be related to building the right culture, doing good in the world or being an innovation leader. Understanding that value takes many forms beyond what shows up on financial statements.

Employees will listen to every word you say, or don’t say, and make up their own story unless you clarify, clarify and re-clarify. Transparency and clarity are key.

I had to learn how to identify which of my customers were most valuable to current operations and which helped us build our brand for the future. We had a lot of small customers consuming a lot of internal resources at lower margins. We had to choose which customers to invest in and that would help us grow the company to the next level.

I wish that I had realized how difficult it would be to go from being a peer with my fellow executives to being their leader. One year ago, we were all on the same level. With my promotion to president and CEO, I am now leading people with whom I was a peer for 15 years. We are figuring out our new roles and relationships.

That I wasn’t alone. Every other CEO also doesn’t know everything, and they are all on their own path of learning how to do it well.