the CEO must be effective in performing seven versatile roles To produce exceptional results, the CEO must understand how to perform all roles well and must recognize that near to success is not good enough.

THE CEO : A VISIONARY & STRATEGY GAMES MAN

CREATING THE VISION

Too many CEOs allow themselves to get drawn in to the maze of day-to-day firefighting – we call this working in the business.  On the other hand, outstanding CEOs make the time to rise above the firefighting and focus on the big picture – we call this working on the business.  From personal experience and in working with others, we have found that there are six core roles that the most effective CEOs perform on a consistent basis..

And CEOs don’t have a choice when it comes to their responsibilities – they must see that all are done and done well.  There is no one to pick up the slack if the CEO does not tend to them. We can help ensure that these responsibilites are effectively executed. 

To lead, a CEO must first define a unifying direction for the company.  Choosing the right vision and expressing it with clarity is the first challenge of true leadership.  A well crafted vision statement forces the CEO and management team to come to grips with a number of subtle, but very important considerations: the vision statement should identify what is unique about your company; it should guide the activities of all employees; it should inspire them to choose to work for your company and give their all; and it should be stated in such a way that you can measure progress and know when you have achieved your vision.


There are fundamental rules of markets and competition, and there are inherent capabilities and limitations of any organization -- together these make some visions attainable while others are not.  The CEO needs to be able to articulate a strategy for achieving that vision in light of the overall market, the company’s position, the competition, as well as other potentially significant factors, such as macro-economic conditions, politics, and regulatory constraints.  At the core of your strategy should be a path that creates a position of true competitive advantage.

While the CEO must ensure that there is a logically tight strategy, it is also important to make certain that the basic precepts of strategic thought permeate the whole organization from top to bottom.  Strategic thought is not just a top level concept, but it should be present at every level in the organization.

BUIDLING THE TOP-DECK PLAYERS:

Without the team to implement them, a well developed vision and a logically sound strategy are merely concepts, and every experienced CEO understands that success depends on the strength of the team.  While high performance teams begin with strong talent, they must be shaped through the creation of an environment that values the contribution of individuals, sets expectations for performance, operates based on sound decision making processes, and motivates team members to give their all for the objectives of the company.

DRAWING THE ROADMAP:

For the strategy to be effective it must guide all the decisions and actions of the company, and it is the translation of the strategy into a more detailed operating plan that ensures that result.  The operating plan consists of a set of specific actions with quantifiable results, including milestones and timelines, and identifies key risks and contingency plans for the higher risk items.  It is most important that the set of actions prescribed by the operating plan, when achieved, ensures the achievement of the strategy.  The operating plan is also the basis for resource allocation, and as such, budgets should follow the development of the operating plan.  The real value of the operating plan is to focus your team selectively on those activities which are the most valuable — and which together add up to a position of true competitive advantage for the company.

GETTING THE BUY-IN AND COMMITTMENT

Companies employ what we call a strategic principle, a memorable and actionable phrase that distills a company’s corporate strategy into its unique essence and communicates it throughout the organization. The distillation of a company’s strategy into a pithy, memorable, and prescriptive phrase is important because a brilliant business strategy, like an insightful approach to warfare, is of little use unless people understand it well enough to apply it—both to anticipated decisions and unforeseen opportunities. In our work, we often see evidence of what we call the 80-100 rule: you’re better off with a strategy that is 80% right and 100% implemented than one that is 100% right but doesn’t drive consistent action throughout the company. A strategic principle can help a company balance that ratio.

The beauty of having a corporate strategic principle—a company should have only one—is that everyone in an organization, the executives in the front office as well as people in the operating units, can knowingly work toward the same strategic objective without being rigid about how they do so. Decisions don’t always have to make the slow trip to and from the executive suite. When a strategic principle is well crafted and effectively communicated, managers at all levels can be trusted to make decisions that advance rather than undermine company strategy.

REINVENTING SUCCESS 

Strategy evaluation involves examining how the strategy has been implemented as well as the outcomes of the strategy. This includes determining whether deadlines have been met, whether the implementation steps and processes are working correctly, and whether the expected results have been achieved. If it is determined that deadlines are not being met, processes are not working, or results are not in line with the actual goal, then the strategy can and should be modified or reformulated.
Both management and employees are involved in strategy evaluation, because each is able to view the implemented strategy from different perspectives. An employee may recognize a problem in a specific implementation step that management would not be able to identify.
The strategy evaluation should include challenging metrics and timetables that are achievable. If it is impossible to achieve the metrics and timetables, then the expectations are unrealistic and the strategy is certain to fail.

CONCLUSION
The strategic management process is a continuous process. As performance results or outcomes are realized - at any level of the organization - organizational members assess the implications and adjust the strategies as needed. In addition, as the company grows and changes, so will the various strategies. Existing strategies will change and new strategies will be developed. This is all part of the continuous process of improving the business in an effort to succeed