Games of Owner and CEO
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The business owner and the hired CEO often play a strange game.
The owner complains that few CEOs are willing to think like an owner, to take responsibility, and go the extra mile. He says if he could find such a CEO, he would make him rich.
The CEO complains that owners don’t want to share power. All key decisions are still made by the owner, and the CEO has only a nominal role. Well, forget the bonus if there is no business breakthrough.
Notice the asymmetry:
For the owner, the problem is the CEO’s lack of responsibility. He has no issues with power. But the CEO’s complaint is a lack of power, yet he strangely stays silent about responsibility.
They both created and maintained this vicious circle. Each is convinced that the problem lies with the other. As long as this is so, they will keep dreaming about the perfect owner or the perfect CEO.
Is there a way out? Yes, if one starts the change with himself.
For example, the owner admits that he is paranoid about losing control over the asset he built for so many years. Then, he answers the question: under what specific conditions would this fear diminish?
Or the CEO might say to himself, “What if I run an experiment? I will choose a problem everyone in the company avoids and solve it with the resources I have. I will build trust and then discuss power.”
Now, they start the real game of creating super-value for all.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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