First Time CEO » Jim Crocker

Managing a Business in Tough Times

Jim Crocker — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:23:13 +0000

Another video by Jim Crocker of Boardroom Metrics on YouTube. This one titled CEO Tips for Managing in Tough Times.

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

core business
core customers
core suppliers
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.

Role of the Chief Executive Officer CEO

Jim Crocker — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:40:43 +0000

Jim Crocker, CEO of Boardroom Metrics has started posting some helpful insight on management and leadership on YouTube. His first post on this topic is describes the 5 key elements of the role of the CEO. According to Crocker, they are:

defining the vision for the organization
assembling (and leading, managing) the management team
leading the planning process
monitoring progress and reporting to stakeholders
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.

Consultant Pricing Options

Jim Crocker — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:42:29 +0000

A key question when engaging a consultant is their fee and how the project will be priced. In another of his YouTube videos to help manager’s use consultants effectively, Jim Crocker of Boardroom Metrics has posted a video on consulting pricing options. He lists three options to consider for pricing a consulting project:

hourly basis
project basis
performance basis

The third, involves giving the consultants a share of the upside created by their work. This is a very effective incentive.

The video is posted here.

When Do You Need a Consultant?

Jim Crocker — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:56:08 +0000

Jim Crocker, CEO of Boardroom Metrics posted this helpful video on YouTube ‘When to Hire a Consultant’. Crocker, who has been a consultant for 25 years, keeps it simple. From his perspective, there are 4 key times for hiring a consultant:

when you need an answer
when you have the answer but need help selling it
when you have the answer, but it’s bad news and it’s better for someone else to deliver it
when you need help implementing change

Crocker points out that based on his experience, hiring a consultant to help with necessary change has a much greater chance of succeeding than hiring a consultant for ‘nice to do’ change.