Anyone familiar with business vernacular knows that CEO is an acronym for chief executive officer, the person at the top of the corporate food chain who’s ultimately responsible for running things as well as ideating and implementing novel strategies intended to drive profits and boost valuation. Companies in decline or those looking to disrupt a status quo that’s no longer serving their culture or vision routinely seek out new leadership to steer them toward more promising futures and meatier bottom lines. However, according to veteran CEO Jack Truong — who spearheaded major turnarounds for each of the three global corporations he’s helmed — finding a good fit isn’t always easy.
Onboarding a new team captain is more than an acquisition of top talent; it’s a leap of faith. All too often, Truong reports, he’s seen a new CEO or C-suite executive hit the ground running and immediately begins making sweeping changes relying on plans based solely on their past experience, things they’ve read, and what they’ve heard, rather than forming a strategy informed by direct observation and listening. He cautions that diving into the breach without first properly vetting a company’s bigger picture can be both foolhardy and costly.
Understanding Customers, Employees, and Owners Spells CEO Success
Jack Truong firmly believes it’s incumbent on new executive hires to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the three fundamental cohorts that form the cornerstones of every sizable corporation. And that’s why, in his definition of CEO, the C stands for customers, the E for employees, and the O for owners.
In order to make the most information regarding a company’s strengths and weaknesses, new leaders must first truly acquaint themselves with the members of their product or service’s target audience, the staff they’ll be working with to produce those goods or services, and the owners or board members to whom they’ll be reporting. “You want to make sure you spend [80% of your first hundred days] out there talking to the C, the E, and the O so that you have an [overview] of what kind of business or company you have, and [and can then come up with a solid idea] of where you want to take it,” he explained.
Seasoned CEO Mike O’Neill echoes Truong’s sentiments. O’Neill views the role of CEO as having three main components: “Firstly, you have to understand what the role is, secondly you have to create the mindset for people to follow (the culture), and thirdly you have to lead by delivery,” he said in a conversation with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. “As a CEO, you are the chief strategist, chief team builder, and chief sales officer. In any one day, you need to cover each of those aspects and do it well. So often I see CEOs who are great at strategy but lousy at team building, or great at team building but lousy at selling. They can’t afford to be; they must be good in each of those spaces.”
Truong contends that for a CEO to be adept at all key three roles requires a willingness to take in and assimilate as much information as they can about the market and workplace environments in which their company operates, and get a frank read on the expectations of the owners or board that hired you. While this sensible game plan seems as basic as looking before you leap, Truong says for many new CEOs, their early tenure is more often a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees. “They get caught up in all of the minutiae of the job and don’t prioritize,” he notes.
Jack Truong Says: Get the Facts, Never Assume
Another pitfall newly hired executives frequently fall prey to is making assumptions based on false equivalencies and conflating performance in a new job with performance in a previous one. “A lot of times, people think they know it all,” says Truong. They figure the reason they’re in the new role is because they were a success in their former role. As much as that’s likely true — in part — it doesn’t mean they’re going to be able to walk in cold and lead their team to a winning season unless they take the time to learn the rules of the game currently being played as well the playing field.
Jack Truong expands the sports metaphor a step further. Take the case of a star indoor volleyball star who’s been drafted to anchor a beach volleyball team. Of course, certain skill sets are transferable, but there’s a vast difference between playing on a wooden court and on sand. And it’s not just a difference in playing surfaces. While there are obvious overlaps between the two branches of the sport, each one exists in its own unique environment with its own inherent set of anomalies — or in the case of a business, employees, competitors, and market conditions.
Truong says anyone who simply assumes they can just step from one scenario and into another and expect the same level of success without proper preparation is kidding themselves. “A lot of people say, ‘Hey, I’m a big-time volleyball player, and therefore, I should be just as good at beach volleyball.’ No, it doesn’t work that way,” Truong contends. “You’ve got to go out there, observe, and experience [something] before you can make any assumptions.”
When an Executive’s Self-Confidence Presents as Self-Sabotage
To exacerbate willfully shortsighted CEO behavior, Truong suggests a lot of C-suite talent is prone to the foibles of their own egos. Yes, a stellar track record is one major reason new executives are often hired, but again, he stresses that past performance alone isn’t enough to ensure a similar outcome in a new role.
While self-assurance is assuredly a requisite asset to any leader, a truly effective CEO must also balance that confidence with an open-minded approach that may require checking one’s ego at the door and setting preconceived notions aside. “Most people who get to that point … should be able to have the confidence to make decisions,” Truong concedes. “But when you make decisions, the difference between making the wrong decision versus the right decision at the time is really understanding what’s going on.
“[To succeed, a leader] must get out there and listen, observe, and form a view of what’s going on — what’s going right, and what’s not going right — for your business and for your company.”
