Quote

The chief strategist of an organization has to be the leader - the CEO.

The one thing I have learned as a CEO is that leadership at various levels is vastly different. When I was leading a function or a business, there were certain demands and requirements to be a leader. As you move up the organization, the requirements for leading that organization don't grow vertically; they grow exponentially.

Showing leadership doesn't mean every employee will run the organization; that would lead to chaos. Businesses do need someone to set the vision and then lead the team to it.

CEOs who can hire properly, that's the most important part of the job. The CEO's job is really to hire the right team and execute the vision second.

Talent is the No. 1 priority for a CEO. You think it's about vision and strategy, but you have to get the right people first.

I think, you know, a fellow CEO said to me that the interesting thing about being CEO that's really striking is that you have very few decisions that you need to make, and you need to make them absolutely perfectly.

If you want a CEO role, you have to prepare for it with a vengeance.

When I came into the CEO office, I basically changed the entire management team. We knew that we had to change the company, so we needed a new set of leaders.

I've been wondering for a while now if the CEO role is one that I want - and the one that I'm best at.

The best CEOs I know are teachers, and at the core of what they teach is strategy.