Towson University’s Outreach Blog

Marcia

If you are sitting in front of a bankruptcy lawyer a few years from now saying, “I never saw it coming”, unfortunately you didn’t do the homework which would defend your blindside. And while it’s common knowledge that CEOs don’t like homework, it is important that someone in the organization does the assignments needed to consider the unexpected as well as “the obvious.”

Having interviewed a fair number of CEO and senior level executives in my time, I feel comfortable in making this statement.  Those who clearly know their roles and responsibilities, effectively prioritize and delegate, know how to structure an effective marketing strategy and have the respect of their employees, are the ones who are running successful organizations.

Set Vision and Strategy in Alignment with Mission, Vision and Values

It’s been said that good CEOs and strong leaders are likely to make great chess players.  They can predict the move of their opponent given most any circumstance and make these moves with fearless conviction.  Without doubt, they are highly skilled at calculating likelihoods and probable outcomes.  To me, these skill sets help make them good visionaries and strategists.

As a CEO’s primary responsibility is to set vision and strategy, I guess that means anyone interested in the position should purchase a chess set.  But even the most accomplished business visionaries and strategists won’t be effective unless they incorporate their company’s mission into their strategic growth plan.  And, while playing a game of chess won’t teach you how to craft a mission statement, it may hone your skills to think through various alternatives and options.

The creation of vision and strategy is dependent on a clear mission of what the organization is to accomplish.  Unfortunately, sometimes an organization’s mission gets lost in the heat of competition, an urgency to do what is necessary for survival and appetite for growth.  This being said, you will need to set up checkpoints to determine if your mission is being upheld and how to get it back on course if derailed.

Not having and measuring an organization against its mission statement is like going on a road trip without a map (or global positioning system).  A mission statement guides the actions of an organization, spelling out its overall goal while providing a general sense of direction for decision making.  A CEO’s role is to define their organization’s mission and ensure that their senior management team can implement and support it.

A clear vision will keep an organization on a path that is consistent with its mission. Positive and inspiring, a vision statement should clearly state the future direction of the organization, focusing on what the organization is to become.  It should be communicated and displayed in a variety of ways to your most important stakeholders. (Employees, customers, prospects, strategic alliances, investors, etc.)  Short-term thinking, tradition, fear of ridicule, complacency and fatigued leaders can often “kill” the development of a vision statement.

To ensure your organization’s mission and vision are implemented as they should be, a CEO needs to set and implement a set or core values.  Values drive a business’s culture and priorities and translate to shared beliefs among stakeholders.  For example:  Respect is a common value many organizations try to instill in their business culture.  Excellence and teamwork are two other values. An example of a statement that supports the value of excellence would be:  We conduct ourselves in a way that results in the best possible outcomes and exceeds expectations.

When creating value statements, you want to make sure that you have organizational “buy-in”.  A focus group like exercise, which includes a cross-section of employees, can be used as a good platform to build value statements.  Promoting how employees fulfill and apply the value statements can be listed as success stories in company newsletters, ads, flyers, on your website and even on posters displayed throughout your organization. Including how employees exemplify values in a performance review will assist managers in making sure values are upheld.

A CEO’s responsibility to create mission, vision and values statements as building blocks for his or her organization is critical.  Having these statements defends your blindside both internally and externally allowing for a 360-degree view of your business environment.

This blog is the first in a series of articles relating to a CEOs job description.  It is posted monthly in Towson University’s e-connection newsletter and will soon be available on the MD SBDC Central Region website:  www.centralmdsbdc.org

Roles and responsibilities of an effective CEO will also be the first topic covered in the upcoming CEO Accelerator Executive Training Series. If you would like to receive notifications of this and other training series events, include your contact information below.