CEO of a New Company as CEO

CEO of a New Company

As CEO of a brand new company, and with unlimited resources, money, and authority, the potential is there to create something better than anything that is available today. By that, it is meant that there is an opportunity to take the best systems and cultures from companies that already exist and that are doing things right in at least one significant area of business, and combine those systems and cultures into a company that will do everything right - at least as much as is humanly possible. Three areas that would be addressed would be: IT and technology, international and cultural interaction and communication, and HR (including performance management, leadership, career anchors, and the Hierarchy of Needs). Those are the main areas around which companies are built, and around which they ultimately succeed or fail, so those areas are vital when building a company from the ground up. By addressing them correctly, the company can be something that will stand the test of time and that will be highly desirable as a place to work.

The most significant of these three areas is HR - and that encompasses everything to do with human resources up to and including the management and how managers interact with their subordinates. There are many issues that surround HR, but people can forget that management is part of the equation. In order to effectively manage a new company and keep it on the right path, one would need to hire a leader (and a leadership team) that is focused on transformational leadership. This is far different than the standard transactional type of leadership that is seen in many companies today. Transformational leadership is also sometimes called servant leadership, and it is a key component of a strong and healthy business model. When a person works as a transformational leader, he or she really gets involved with what is taking place in the business. There is no ordering someone else to do something and then walking away, as is done in some companies.

Transformational leaders pay attention to the needs of their employees, and they all work together as a team. Yes, someone has to be in charge, but that does not mean that the person in charge has to give orders or operate the company as though the employees do not have any ideas or valuable input of their own. Operating a new company as a transformational leader would allow the person to work with the employees and that can foster a sense of responsibility and a sense of community in any company. When those things are present in an organization - no matter what the size of the business - it is much easier to move forward because everyone is on the same page. They all have similar career anchors, which are what holds them together and keeps them working hard for the company. They are also getting their needs met, and everyone has different needs.

Leaders that are transformational in nature spend time finding out what needs employees specifically have, so that they can look for ways to meet those needs and keep employees happy and productive. Employees may be uncertain about expressing their needs, because they may fear ridicule, retaliation, or simply being ignored or treated as though they are asking too much in return for the work they do. When they have a transformational leader, they will feel more at ease and be better able to express what they need and want in their work. If they can talk about the things that matter to them and how those things fit in with what matters to the company, there is a much higher chance that their needs (or at least some of their needs) will be met. Transformational leadership is a vital part of a strong company, and any company that has unlimited resources and funds and authority should certainly use those things to build the best possible leadership team.

In today's fast-paced and global society, even the best companies with the best leaders can fail if they do not have the right communication skills. No longer is it only about communicating with someone who is very similar in thought and who lives in the same town or city. Now, business is about selling goods or services to just about everyone around the world. To work with people who are far different, managers and their employees have to understand that there are cultural and communication issues that must be faced. These cannot be overlooked or underestimated, or they can cause serious trouble for any company. It is not just about the language barrier, but about the culture in which the business resides and the culture in which the customers or clients are located. To have a business that really understands these issues, a leader must focus on learning about cultures and teaching his or her employees how to handle business and social issues in those cultures.

Even within one country, there are cultural and language discrepancies. If one puts a fast-paced, fast-talking, heavily accented person from New Jersey in the same room with a slow-paced, slow-talking, heavily accented person from the Bayou country of Louisiana, both of them may feel like the other person came from a different planet. The U.S. is so vast that it is easy to have cultural and language barriers between different states and different regions. Even some of the words that are used and the slang expressions that are common to the area are quite different. When one extrapolates that out to other countries, the differences become even more noticeable and it is these differences which can stop a company from making a deal with a prospective customer or client. To address these concerns, cultural sensitivity training is a necessary and important part of business on a global level. Anytime a company is reaching out to others in another culture and/or who speak another language, studying that culture and understanding how business is conducted must be considered.

Of course, no company would be able to perform well in this day and age without technology. The best and fastest servers, computers, and smart phones are needed in order to ensure that one can work with customers, leaders, and employees consistently and at a high level of convenience. It would be upsetting to lose a deal with a perspective client or customer because of a lack of communication brought on by poor technology. IT systems are not foolproof, but the better systems that are used and the more failsafe measures a company has in place, the more likely that company will be to have continuous communication and an ability to handle anything that comes along from a technological standpoint. Good IT is important in another way, too, because customers want to know that their information is protected when they order something or even just communicate with a company online. If they cannot feel safe, they will often use a different company.