As a CEO, you might consider hiring an interim manager when:

• you are undertaking a major project and lack internal resources to lead it
• you need an expert or senior level leader quickly and don’t have time for the standard hiring process
• you are concerned about costs and don’t want to add another full-time employee

Interim management can provide access to unaffordable talent quite reasonably.

For additional insight check out these resources:

• This blog post answers why interim management is important to CEO’s?
• for CEO’s looking to understand emerging trends in interim management, this European report provides some great insight on interim management

For the past 15 years I’ve spent much of my time diligently consulting to private business CEO’s.  All of them with a dream – that one day they will exit rich from their businesses.

Without much questioning, I’ve worked with these CEO’s to ‘build their business” – believing as they did, that generally, the keys to a successful exit down the road lay in maximizing growth and profits.

What I know now is that’s not true.

The keys to a successful exit lie in building a private business that has value – and for a private business to have value, being profitable isn’t enough – those profits need to be sustainable and transferable.

Sustainable profits are those that have a chance of carrying on in to the future. So being in a declining industry or milking a product that hasn’t been upgraded in 10 years will hurt chances of a successful exit.

Transferable profits are those that can be generated regardless of who the owner is – they can be easily transferred to someone else.

This is where many, many business owners fail.

They fail because they are the heart and soul of the business. The business is their baby. They created it and they have all the customer, supplier and key staff relationships. They know the product – although not necessarily their industry (many become isolated) – better than anyone.

So, if you’re the owner and first time CEO of a private business, here’s something to think about. Do you think of yourself as the owner first – or the CEO?

The role of the owner is to build a valuable asset – a company that produces sustainable and transferable profits.

The role of the CEO is to manage the day to day. Observation – most private company owners relish the CEO role.

Which are you?

For more insight on building a valuable business check out this Slide Share presentation.

It’s about getting it right as the CEO – the first time.  Because with more pressure on performance, there may not be a second time.

Here are the four tips for a CEO to get it right the first time:

First, “do only what the CEO can do”. I couldn’t agree more. CEO’s can’t and shouldn’t do it all – though many try – a classic first time CEO mistake. The job of the CEO is to lead, not do.

Second, treat your Board of Directors as a strategic partner. I like the advice here – remember how you would like to be treated by one of your divisions or business units. There is a level of engagement that you will want and feel comfortable with. Less than that level and who knows what your discomfort might lead to. Same for your Board of Directors.

Third, “align the culture behind a clear business strategy”. Huh?? I wasn’t sure what that meant either. Here’s the key point – vision and mission are nice but tapping informal interactions and networks is vital to rapid, lasting change and organizational buy-in.

Fourth, set the pace for change. Sign me up 100% for this one. If the CEO is dogging it, don’t look for rapid movement elsewhere in the organization. There is a balance though, between moving too fast, making mistakes and creating setbacks vs. moving too slowly and creating complacency. The CEO needs to get it right.

Bottom line from the post – the CEO needs to be strategic and a team player. Strategic because with so many pressures, defining direction and priorities isn’t straightforward. Team player because no one can do it themselves.

Good advice for the first time CEO or the CEO who needs to get it right the first time.

That’s the essence of a thought-provoking book by Simon Sinek called ‘Start with Why’.

You can skip reading the book by watching this TedTalk by Sinek here.

Inspired by the book, Jim Crocker of Boardroom Metrics posted a video highlighting the ‘why’ and ‘what I believe’ of Boardroom Metrics here.

First, geographically. Boardroom Metrics  expanded it’s services to Ottawa and Montreal with staff physically located in these markets.

Second, the Company is providing advisory expertise in two new areas: employee health and wellness, and corporate learning and training. Crocker believes that companies who recognize how employee health and wellness and corporate learning are linked to performance can achieve a significant competitive advantage.  According to Crocker, “the only sustainable competitive advantage is people”.

Third, the Company has expanded its tools offering to include the Chairmans View System. Crocker was attracted to Chairman’s View because it helps CEO owners differentiate and focus on the two key elements of their role: being the owner first, and being the CEO second. According to Crocker based on almost every company he’s worked with – “the owner CEO frequently gets hung up in the day to day and stops thinking like an owner. As a result, too many private businesses owners fail to create sustainable, transferable business value. Unfortunately, the numbers show that when the majority of private businesses are put up for sale, most DO NOT succeed. Chairman’s View helps CEO owners avoid that mistake”.

Fourth, Boardroom Metrics has significantly upgraded it’s interim management practice. Now called ‘Accomplished Executives’, Boardroom Metrics now sources and places proven senior, experienced executives, consultants and professional Chairman.  The service compliments Boardroom Metrics tools and advisory services as well as standing on it’s own for companies seeking proven talent for any role.

Finally, Boardroom Metrics has launched a new website here. The site highlights the Company’s new services as well as incorporating social media and other tools for clients and senior executives to dialogue with the Boardroom Metrics.

Having watched many clients waste time and resources on planning that goes nowhere, Crocker’s tips are (once again) simple:

1. start early – planning for 2009 in February is a little late!
2. make planning a priority – there will always be more important things to focus on for the company that isn’t really committed to planning
3. planning is lead by senior management – the CEO in particular should have a clear perspective on what needs to be accomplished in the upcoming year and the key strategies for getting there – engaging the rest of the organization in the process is important but simply tossing planning to others in the organization never works
4. planning and budgeting are inextricably linked – which sounds obvious but gets overlooked – budgets should reflect the allocation of resources necessary to execute the planning priorities – if they don’t, then the plan priorities are just imaginary ideas for making something happen
5. follow-up to make sure the plan is working – too many organizations spend resources on planning then NEVER revisit the plan to measure accomplishments or check direction – which makes planning pretty much a complete waste of time

For people and organizations used to organized, well run planning processes, Crocker’s tips must seem overly simplistic. Unfortunately, they reflect reality – based on Crocker’s experience more companies fail at effective planning than succeed – usually because the simple approach required to execute properly is overlooked.

The video is posted here.

The Boardroom Metrics blog is here.

Crocker has picked up on a theme that is everywhere right now. His spin is to simplify by focusing on four key things:

1. core business
2. core customers
3. core suppliers
4. core employees

He also points out that focus isn’t just a best practice for managing a business in tough times, it’s a best practice all the time.

The link is here.

1. defining the vision for the organization
2. assembling (and leading, managing) the management team
3. leading the planning process
4. monitoring progress and reporting to stakeholders
5. articulating the vision to employees, customer, suppliers and investors to engage them in the success of the business.

Obviously, Crocker is simplifying for affect and brevity – the role seems much more complicated than that – but when you think about it, if more CEO’s stuck to what he’s suggesting, they might do a better job.

The YouTube video is here.