Three Things Your CEO is Thinking About – and You Should, Too

Talent

Talent – really? Top of the list – really? YES. In today’s completive global markets, accessing the best talent is THE distinguisher for companies that will succeed or fail. Your ability – as a CEO or a manager – to identify, develop and retain good people will shape the company. In its annual CEO survey, the Conference Board found that even Customer Relations, Operational Excellence and Innovation took a back seat to Talent concerns. Know your people, and how to help them achieve.  Identify and develop talent. Be known as the developer and exporter of talent within your organization, and as someone who does this with the company and individual’s best interests in mind.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, the role of any public company is to make a profit and to provide value to its shareholders. The company may, in fact, provide goods or services that serve a world of good…and they do so at a defined margin. The more that you can learn to think like a business person – always keeping cost, margins and returns at the forefront, the more successful you will be. Want to launch a new product? Go after a new marketspace? Rekindle a withered customer relationship? Build the business case. Learn more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alanhall/2012/08/26/how-to-build-a-billion-dollar-business-plan-10-top-points-2/2/

The Future

Strategy does not reside only at the top of the house. Every single leader – every single employee – should spend some time thinking about the future: where do you want the company to be in 3-5-10 years? Where do YOU want to be in 3-5-10 years? Mapping out goals and an action plan to get there is a tremendously powerful exercise. Too many people I work with tell me they don’t have time to plan, or there is just too much to worry about today to think about the future – they’re too busy making this quarter to plan the next year. Guess what? That time is coming, and you want to meet the challenges head-on. Block off time on your calendar now to start thinking ahead. Make it a practice. Challenge your peers to do the same – you’ll be amazed at the results.