Carol Bartlett is a senior level executive with broad experience in the oil & gas and transportation industries who manages more than $200M in annual sales. Using a combination of proven techniques, Ms. Bartlett focuses on growth results. She bridges theoretical business principles and philosophies to strategic actions that give profitable results. By deploying integrated proven strategies, she adds value to companies that want to grow sales and increase profits.

Jol Hunter has spent a large portion of his career as a partner with the national firm of chartered accountants and business advisors. In the past few years, with three other gentlemen, he has owned a substantial Atlantic Canadian business and so he is experiencing the joys and challenges of the ownership and operation of a medium-sized business.

Chris Spurvey spearheaded the growth of Plato Consulting to the point that it was acquired by KPMG, one of the largest management consulting firms in the world. In his time there, he sold more than $300 million in consulting services. After the acquisition, Chris changed his focus to helping other "non-sales sellers" find a way to grow revenue in a consistent, stress-free manner. He published It's Time to Sell: Cultivating the Sales Mindset, founded Make Sales a Habit University, and became a growth advisor to business owners and their management teams throughout the world.

 

This week on the podcast, we dive into the roles of the CEO and the key areas on which the CEO should focus to ensure the overall success of the organization. We also talk about the difference between a CEO and a founder, succession planning, leadership challenges, key relationships CEOs should nurture, and so much more.

To learn more about the role of the CEO and get some insights about leadership, check out the full episode!

 

Ensuring That Key Processes Are Working

The keyword is ensure—not do. Disciplined business processes are foundational to the organization's performance. Indeed, the set of business processes can be thought of as the engine of the organization. Ensuring that those processes are working may be simply a matter of determining and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs). Regardless, the CEO must ensure that the processes are working and leading the organization toward achievement of its goals.

 

Identifying Key Relationships

Think of what relationships need to be managed the CEO must manage. Relationships are key in any size organization. In smaller organizations, a larger proportion of key relationships are managed exclusively by the CEO.

I encourage CEOs to think about those key relationships and assess whether they're proactively managing them. The more proactive they are in maintaining those relationships, the smoother things go when they encounter hiccups and the fewer hiccups there will be.

 

The Importance of Building Solid Relationships

We have said many times that all businesses revenue comes from relationships. When you have a solid relationship with a client, you can be honest with that client and retain the business even when things aren't going smoothly. And things don't always go smoothly. Strong relationships are critical for the long-term survival of any business.

 

To learn more about the topics, listen to the full episode.

 

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