Over the years, I’ve had many conversations with successful tech CEOs where inevitably the following was shared:
- “We invest in our people.”
- “We value our time and map it.”
- “We allocate capital strategically.”
Yet when I spend additional time with them and the team the cracks show. Whether its time slipping by in worthless meetings, talent that’s under leveraged and misaligned or treasure that’s being spent on scattered pet projects, the results always involve missed opportunities, frustrated people, and cash that disappears into the ether. No one wins.
Virtually every CEO will tell you they’re pressed for time. But the reality is most are just poor stewards of time. Everyone understands time just goes and no one creates more of it.
Meetings are for making decisions and moving forward, not rehashing the past or cross-functional sync ups. Projects are prioritized by how much pressure they relieve on the team, not by what the work is and its deadline. Investment dollars are an ROI engine, not a mechanism for chasing trends.
Masters Level Strategic Maturity
The real power of time, talent, and treasure isn’t optimizing them individually. Instead, it’s aligning them together as a cohesive engine that maximizes leverage.
As a CEO and founder, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does our time schedule map directly to our stated priorities or to the loudest internal demands?
- Are we deploying our best talent on the highest ROI opportunities?
- Is our capital going toward solving the right problems, at the right time, with the right team?
Alignment along all three dimensions reveals maturity throughout the team and the C-Suite. The telltale signs are always present. Decisions get made in a timely manner, humans are executing on projects with precision, and capital is being allocated wisely. Everyone knows what’s going on, why these priorities are important, and who is responsible for each outcome.
Zen in Simple Action Steps
The fundamentals are straightforward and don’t need to be fancy to execute on week-to-week. The key is to take the first step and then be consistent, so everyone sees relevant actions are valued.
First, as the CEO, audit your time and then show others how to do the same. Everyone will find activities that are an outright waste and others that need people at a lower price point to complete.
Second, establish (or re-establish) clear measures of accountability and success for the team. Define what matters and a set of rewards. As the late Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway was known to say, “show me a set of incentives and I’ll show you a set of outcomes.”
Finally, define what you’re going to invest in and how you expect it to positively impact your bottom line, the statement of cash flows, and your balance sheet. Meaningful investment often takes time to mature and that’s just fine. Just ensure you and the team are clear about expected outcomes, so no one is surprised.
The ultimate measure of success for CEOs and founders is a company that operates very efficiently along all three dimensions of time, talent, and treasure and generates value for everyone that is touched by the work completed for customers.
If this perspective resonates with you, contact me on LinkedIn or at scott@purplefinchgroup.com
Contact me HERE if you’d like to learn more about one of my 4-hour consults for tech CEOs. Schedule a free 30-minute conversation.
Stay focused. Keep disrupting. Be well.
