Deadly Sins: Good Planning, Bad Execution
I seem to be doing a lot of writing for everyone except Software Destinations! Here is a return to the deadly sins series I started a few months ago, in response to an incredible conference I went to at the Software Association of Oregon in April. To quickly recap, these are deadly sins that CEOs of software companies commit that ultimately destroy their company. This next sin is “Good Planning, Bad Execution”.
If you’ve been involved in any organizational management before, you should be able to predict if you are vulnerable to this. A lot of newly minted software CEOs are either good at planning or good at execution, but rarely both. As a CEO, you are likely not going to be executing all aspects of your market strategy, but you are likely responsible for maximizing the value of your team as leader. That doesnt mean micromanaging your staff. Dont ask your staff “am I micromanaging you?” as likely as not they will answer no, even if you are. Not all micromanagers are villains after all, but many employees wont run the risk of saying something negative like that to the boss.
Your best hope is to recognize early if your strength is not in execution. If its not, you must make sure you staff your company with team players that are very hands on. If you have populated your staff with good planners and poor executors — who is going to implement your grand plans? Have you hired artists or web designers that are always late or need more than 2-3 revs before getting a design right? Is the person who manages your developers unable to hit any milestones? How can you possibly succeed with this kind of staff if you arent a master organizer? This answer is simple. A CEO can be a great planner and poor executor, provided that there is a get-go person who is managing the troops. But this only works if you can truly delegate authority. If you have given yourself the pair of titles President and CEO, then fire your other half and appoint a get-go president.
Does hiring a president and keeping your CEO title make you half a man? In some eyes, perhaps. The role of a CEO is to ensure that the directives and vision of the board of directors is made manifest in the company. As CEO, you are looking out for #1: your shareholder. If you have appointed a president, as CEO, your role is still well defined. You are still the cash man. If the company needs new money to take it to the next level, then your role should include raising money. If you havent appointed someone as director of business development, then that role may squarely land on you. As CEO, you should be directly involved at the highest level of relationships with companies that mean the most to your success. For example, if your company builds plugins for Dreamweaver or Flash, you should directly involved in your company’s relationship with Macromedia. You should also be reaching out to other vendor CEOs to reinforce any collaboration between your two companies.
Seriously: the roles of president and CEO are both full time jobs. If you are constantly inserting yourself into the execution of directives, it is a sign that you havent fully comprehended your role in the company and you are doing someone else’s job while ignoring the vital role you are supposed to play in the company. That doesnt make you a more “hands on” boss. It means something is wrong with you, and your employees may not feel empowered to tell you.
This article now available and revised on The Technology Tribe.