Nobody Teaches You How to Be a CEO
Most CEOs never get formal training for the job. Inc.'s David Finkel argues the fix isn't a manual that doesn't exist — it's a short list of disciplined habits: know the handful of things that actually move the needle, build culture on purpose, write the plan down every quarter, and build the leadership team like it's the job.
Prompted by “Nobody Teaches You How to Be a CEO”, Inc.com (David Finkel).
I read a piece this week that stuck with me: nobody actually teaches you how to run a company.
You get good at engineering, or sales, or running production — and then one day the title lands on you and you're expected to just know how to run the whole thing. No manual, no mentor, no dress rehearsal.
Inc.'s David Finkel opens with a story about a guy named Brian who grew up in his family's manufacturing business, became one of their best engineers, and then lost his father suddenly — and inherited the CEO chair overnight with zero training for it. That story could've been written about half the family-owned manufacturers I've met since I moved my practice here to Rochester. Western NY runs on companies exactly like that: an engineer, a machinist, a second-generation owner who's excellent at the craft and got thrown into the corner office with no warning.
So what actually moves the needle?
Finkel's habits are worth the full read, but the ones that hit hardest: know the handful of things that actually move the needle in your business, and stop spending your best hours on everything else. Culture isn't a poster on the wall — it's what your people do when you're not in the room, and building it on purpose is your job, not HR's. Write your plan down every quarter. One page. If it's not written down, it's not a priority, it's a hope. Build your leadership team like it's the job — because it is.
None of this is complicated. Most of it is just lonely to figure out solo.
That's a lot of what 1:1 work is for in the first place — see 1:1 Coaching.
Originally posted on LinkedIn ↗