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Welcome to Chief Executive's CEO Briefing. Keep your colleagues informed - forward for signup.
Marshall Goldsmith: The Dangers Of ‘Adding Value’ As CEO
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In Marshall Goldsmith’s classic What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, he identifies one of the biggest challenges of successful leaders as “adding too much value.” In their latest column for Chief Executive, Marshall and co-author Kelly Goldsmith remind us of why this is the case—and how to avoid causing unintentional damage to your team while you’re trying to help your team (especially as CEO).
“Effective implementation is a function of the quality of the idea times the implementor’s commitment to make it work,” they write in the latest issue of the magazine. “The more ownership a person has for the idea, the more committed he or she is to making it work. When personal ownership of the idea goes down, commitment tends to go down with it.” They urge you to keep four key things in mind when communicating or brainstorming:
- Are you killing motivation? “Visualize one of your direct reports,” they write. “She is young, smart and incredibly committed. She comes to you with an idea. You think it is a great idea, and then your mind comes up with a series of suggestions that (you think) might make it even better. You start sharing your suggestions and notice that she is taking careful notes to make sure she gets all of the details right. If you’re not careful, one major problem may occur. The quality of the idea may go up 5 percent. Her commitment to execute the idea may go down 50 percent. It is no longer her idea. It is now becoming your idea.”
- Your words are orders. “As a CEO, it can get even worse. Not only will your less-than-optimal suggestions get implemented, they will be initiated with ‘the CEO said’ at each level in the organization.”
- Pause before adding value. “Before speaking, ask yourself, ‘Is my comment going to improve this person’s commitment?’ If the answer is no, then ask, ‘Is it worth it?’
- Just as important: Do this at home. “Before speaking, ask yourself, “Is my comment going to improve my relationship with the person I love?” If the answer is no, then ask, “Is it worth it?” At home, if the comment you’re about to make will damage your relationship with a person you love, it is almost never worth it.
“It only takes a few seconds to think, ‘Is it worth it?’ before speaking,” they write. “It can take a lot longer to recover from the damage caused by speaking when it was not worth it.” Read the full article >
— Dan Bigman, editor, Chief Executive. dbigman@ChiefExecutiveGroup.com
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Grabbing momentum. In this bonus edition of our Corporate Competitor Podcast, Guild Chief Product and Technology Officer Rohan Chandran shares how leaders can tap into the transformative power of momentum. (Chief Executive)
Your IT budget. How should your CFO be thinking about investing in tech? Reporter Russ Banham checked in with leading tech-savvy finance chiefs for some advice on smart IT budget stewardship. (Chief Executive)
Should you talk about it? After the apparent attempted assassination of former President Trump, top business leaders, including the CEOs of Apple and Microsoft, released statements about the incident. But whether you should follow their example might depend on a few key factors. (Inc.)
Making real money with AI. In industries like retail and financial services, CIOs are looking for ways artificial intelligence can not just boost an organization’s efficiency but also add actual dollars to its top and bottom lines. (WSJ)
Lyft’s U-Turn. A year into the job, the rideshare company’s CEO David Risher shares how he turned the company cash-flow positive and why he may pull out from Minneapolis. (Fast Company)
When should you step aside? Opposition to ageist policies and practices should not mean opposition to honest assessments around generational leadership change. (HBR)
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Manufacturing M&A Dealmakers Forum
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