If I Were The CEO...

CEOs are considered powerful people in any organization. They are the head honchos whom everyone fears. The general perception among people is that whatever the CEOs says is the final word on wisdom and it must not be questioned, not atleast in CEO's presence! They are considered the Godfather!

But I have a contrary view. I believe that a CEO must be a follower first if he wants to truely lead his organization and people. He must be a follower of his people, who is always on the look out for what his people are thinking and feeling. He must be a follower of the pulse of his organization and his people. I am not yet a CEO but someday soon I will become a CEO. Following are a few things I would love to do as a CEO;

1. Eat lunch in the common cafeteria. For me a common lunch with common people is more fruitful and satisfying than a power lunch.


2. Spend at least 2 hours every week meeting my people from every level - from vice president to the sweeper.


3. Keep an open door policy with a big board engraved with “You are welcome, always!”


4. Weekly tea meeting in an informal setup with a group of 10 people randomly picked to discuss anything they wish to discuss.


5. Everyday give bear-hug to at least five of my people randomly intercepted.


6. Send a small 'good morning email' with a 'thought of the day' to all employees.


7. Go around the cubicles saying ‘hi’ to some of the people everyday when in office.


8. Paint the office with “If you are working late in evening, you are definitely not working hard enough during day.”


9. Tea bonding – everyday have one cup of tea with an employee at his/her desk.


10. Personally drive communication of major initiative or strategy though the rank and file of the organization.


11. Write a lot of small hand written notes to people appreciating their work and how that is helping the organization evolve and grow.


12. Spend a lot of time talking to young people in the organization and begging for ideas and suggestions from them.


13. Explain organizational goals and objective through stories.


14. Appreciate publicly, reprimand privately.


15. Put suggestion box all around the place and reward the employee with the highest number of suggestions every month.


16. Celebrate small victories of people.


17. Throw surprise office parties.


18. Spend 30% of my time meeting customers and trade partners.


19. Talk more about the picture rather than the road map.


20. Keep the performance metrics to a maximum of 5 across all levels because I believe that the more clutter you have, the less focused your people are, and more is the scope for fudging performance.


21. Practice “leadership by walking around.”