Technology, Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, Leadership, Entrepreneurship
Tag: Leadership
The three Leadership qualities that matter most (CEO or otherwise): 1.) Have a Point-of-View: It is essential to have a point-of-view. Right or wrong time will tell. For example, if a Board of Directors is looking to fill a CEO role, a CEO candidate ought to have a point-of-view in terms of a broad strategy…
Opportunity Cost for Active Managers Is High Institutional investors typically contemplate opportunity cost within the context of portfolio returns, individual stock returns and ROIC. What however is the opportunity cost associated with pursuing a broken business model versus correcting course? The capital markets are filled with smart people and smart machines. It is more difficult than ever…
Every founder CEO begins as a “creator”. Not every founder CEO graduates from “creator” to “builder”. Creators eventually self-implode (Elon Musk, Tesla and Travis Kalanick, Uber) whereas other founders are able to scale over the long-term. For example, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos are builders (We provide a list of Builder CEOs…
Successful CEOs possess each of the attributes described below. This is an unscientific analysis based upon my prior experience covering and acquiring companies (equity research analyst; M&A executive) as well as my current role as founder of CEORater. It is important to recognize that while these attributes are qualitative in nature they do impact the…
To Centralize is to Oppress This article focuses on centralized business models and why they don’t work. Ben is our anti-hero who learns this lesson the hard way. We Detest Centralized Business Models for Several Reasons: 1.) The centralized model assumes that corporate headquarters knows best. Could there be a more arrogant assumption? For any…
For the Lamborghini Countach – the successor to the revolutionary Miura (our header image) – Ferruccio Lamborghini chose three of Lamborghini’s best and brightest. Then he did something revolutionary – he left them alone.
Elements of Lamborghini’s leadership style – openness and creativity – are congruent with our recent CEO personality research, particularly as it relates to dynamic, fluid segments of the technology industry (think Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Driving) where creative approaches to problem-solving and adaptability are key success factors.
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article detailing the process by which Lamborghini brought the Countach to life. To access the article as it appeared in the WSJ CLICK HERE
Our recent CEORater Podcast on the subject is below.
Even more on the Miura (we all have favorites) courtesy of Petrolicious – “The Lamborghini Miura Is Still Untamed”
Often the best advice one could give an entrepreneur is to “just do it“. “It” could be an idea/project/NewCo or it could be a discreet task. As entrepreneurs our business is our baby. As such, we want perfection. Perfection – while a noble aspiration – is not practical. Entrepreneurs must take action with imperfect information and limited data points – particularly if that which we are creating is paradigm-shifting. People won’t “get it” initially. Thus, it’s critical to get “it” out there. Let people use it, poke it, try to break it, have fun with it. The entrepreneur and team may then collect feedback, refine “it” and repeat the cycle (i.e. the feedback Loop) continuously. In my experience I’ve found that when I’m physically moving (left foot, right foot, walk, jog, run) I’m most creative. Ideas for new opportunities, creative solutions and everything in between rush through my temporal lobe like San Francisco 49ers fans rushing for the exits. Below is a link to a recent CEORater Podcast that took place this summer with fellow entrepreneur Greg Walls of PE28. Enjoy: CEORater Podcast Ep. 21 Movement & The Entrepreneur
For those whom don’t know, the photo is of late/great Intel early employee (technically not a co-founder) and former CEO Andy Grove.
What is the most important factor in identifying companies that will be successful over time? Answer: the senior leadership team.
Quality leaders should be offended when they are referred to as “managers”. Effective senior leadership teams don’t “manage” – they “lead”.
Quality senior leadership teams have a greater influence on a given company’s success (however you want to define it) than any other one variable.
End market you say? Quality teams will capitalize on strong end-markets and have the courage to exit weak end-markets even when it may be politically difficult to do so.
Quality teams set the culture. Quality teams insist on hiring quality people and won’t sacrifice quality to satisfy a growth expectation.
Quality teams will push back on board members who have overly aggressive growth expectations that may jeopardize the company’s foundational core.
Quality leadership teams will pursue new, exciting product initiatives that have promise – even when data points and milestones are few during the early days of that product’s life cycle. Even when doing so may mean cannibalizing the core and pissing off investors.
