Anyone can become a CEO, from any background or culture – but is it right for you?
The third paragraph in my book starts with, “It is important to understand that a rookie CEO can come from any cultural or business background.” Yes, you can become a CEO. Many of you may already be there, some may be pondering it, and many of you may never want to pursue this road ahead.
Perhaps you think I am crazy or wrong about the above statement, but I have spoken with and provided guidance for those who have become CEOs before they even realized it. How can this happen you ask? Today, being 2022, online businesses have skyrocketed to front and center. In just the US alone, in 2021, there are over 32.5 million (Oberlo) small businesses each having a CEO or Owner. Imagine, a 17-year-old starts making videos in his or her bedroom, they grow a social channel over a couple of years, hire content creators, editors, production teams, and so on and the young founder is a CEO! Just take a look back at Michael Dell, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs – all started out with basically little to nothing before building their companies. Yes, today we have the web, broadband technology, tools, and video so the businesses look different, but if you are one of these “founders” you may become a CEO and business owner in a short period of time.
As a new CEO, you have some choices as to how to proceed and grow. You can talk to your parents, relatives, investors who appear or hire a coach/advisor. What type of CEO and leader will you become?
I address these questions in my book, which has been recognized by Bookauthority as one of the best books for new CEOs. In short, I created a new framework to consider. The key elements of the framework are the path you took to get to CEO, the philosophies you bring to the table, the leadership styles you already have developed and these together drive the type of company culture you will create. I call this “PPLC” and it is described in the book and summarized in this blog post.
I have learned that some people don’t read books, don’t search, and don’t find some of the material available to them in their journey. I have also learned that some sources call philosophies leadership styles and this can confuse people. My framework simplifies your ability to help you build a personal roadmap to the best CEO you can be and create a culture in your company that people love to work in and you are proud of!
This post will simply help you get started. Be candid with yourself. Create a personal business model and roadmap with you in the center. If you consider phases, where phase #1 is when you were young and still in school, phase #2 is when you were in college/university/grad school as they apply, and phase #3 is your business world now. Phase 1 and 2 will indicate your life learnings on the path to CEO. Were you a leader? Passive participant? Did you lead projects in school lab assignments? As you complete this exercise, you will learn about yourself and trends from your background. These will shape your future. Consider this your personal inventory of who you are, how you got here, your personal sphere of influence, your timeline, and your skills to step into the CEO role.
The PPLC Framework Summary
This is a brief peek at the contour of the book, how it relates to your CEO behavior, and the culture you will create within your company. More details can be found in the blog post link above, and in the book using specific examples to help educate you. These are excellent points regardless of your current position, be it new CEO or not.
P = Path (to CEO): How you got here
P = Philosophy: Your core values and principles
L = Leadership: Day-to-day operational methodologies and styles
C = Culture you create, which is driven by PPL
Next Steps
Take the actions above, check out the book, read the “Introduction to PPLC Framework blog post”, and create your personal roadmap. I will be back with the next steps to help guide you in a future post here, in:
- Moving forward in your new CEO role
- Preparing you for your future CEO role
- Preparing you for your next role, regardless of title/role
Summary
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