Cultivate a CEO Mindset if you want your business to succeed
What does it take to succeed as an entrepreneur? We believe you need to cultivate a CEO mindset.
In today’s entrepreneurial world, there is no time for egos or personal agendas because the competition is fierce and it never sleeps. You have to be mindful of every decision that’s made from strategy meetings to product development – from customer service reps answering questions on social media channels all day long up until the moment an order is delivered or a sale is made.
The problem with many small business owners is that they’re still thinking like employees – they think they have certain “tasks to do” and that’s about it.
But having a CEO mindset changes everything.
CEOs are responsible for overseeing their company’s success and making sure that everything runs smoothly from top to bottom. As such, CEOs think like owners and not employees! They are always looking at ways they can improve their business so that it keeps running smoothly and stays profitable. They don’t wait around for something bad to happen before taking action.
It’s time to take your business seriously.
In this blog, we will show you how to build a confident and powerful CEO mindset that gets the best out of business.
What’s the difference between an employee mindset and a CEO mindset?
An employee mindset is distinctly different from the mindset of a CEO:
- An employee mindset focuses on finishing tasks on a to-do list
- There is limited room for strategic thinking
- There isn’t really a “go-getter” aspect and this mindset waits for the approval of others
- Seldom invents new ideas, but instead, tends to go with the flow
- Employees are not personally invested in the success of the company
A person with a CEO mindset:
- Plans for success
- Takes failure in their stride and learns from it
- Is personally invested in the success of the business
- Is open to new ideas, able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances
- Always working on strategies to improve business
- Thinks of ways to make more revenue and how to reduce unnecessary costs
- Values their time
- Is a leader
- Works efficiently and productively
- Has clear, defined goals for the business
We are not saying that one mindset is necessarily better than the other; after all, you want your employees to do the work, not try to be the boss!
We’re just highlighting that if you are running your own business, you need to take a powerful position in leading your company.
8 ways to grow your CEO mindset
1. Own it
Do you want to know the secret to cultivate a CEO mindset? You can do it with just one word: responsibility. Responsibility is the foundation of all successful CEOs. It’s not about being perfect, but about taking ownership and doing what needs to be done in order for your business or project to succeed.
2. Show leadership
Any good boss needs to lead well and CEOs know that their employees will follow their lead. If you set a good example for your employees, the rest will follow. If you want them to be goal-orientated then this should become part of the things you implement in training and across all facets of the business.
Being a strong leader means listening to the ideas of others, not micro-managing every single task in the business, investing time and money into training and building up your staff and learning from setbacks.
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.” – Ronald Reagan
3. Deal with criticism
As much as we wish everyone would like our products/services, sometimes people don’t, and we have to deal with it. First, assess whether the complaint is justified: is the product faulty? Did you or your team underdeliver? If so, resolve the issue as quickly and graciously as possible.
Respond to all complaints immediately because in the world of social media, bad news travels fast and your reputation could be at stake.
Adopt the mindset of one of the world’s greatest CEOs:
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates
4. Network
In business, connections are everything. You never know when someone you met at a random get-together lands up being the perfect person to help you launch your new offer. Carry business cards with you and be open to connecting with people who could complement your business. And note, this isn’t just other business owners!
An artist you meet could be hired to paint a mural on your office wall, for example.
Just don’t be sleazy about it! For more networking tips, click here.
4. Value your staff
When you first start out, you might be running your business as a solo-entrepreneur. You wear all the hats: sales, marketing, R&D, public relations, customer service and more. But once you expand, you will need to rely on your staff, even if you are only hiring virtual assistants and freelancers to start off with.
A good CEO considers the wellness of their staff and assigns them work that is challenging, but within their scope of expertise.
Someone with a CEO mindset understands that they need to invest in high-quality staff and provide them with ample training and learning opportunities that will contribute towards the business’s success.
“Hire character. Train skill.” – Peter Schutz
5. Focus on solutions, not problems
One of the best ways to improve your business is to focus on solutions. When you look for problems, all you’ll find are more problems! But when you seek out solutions, they will lead to more opportunities and better experiences in every aspect of your business.
A great way to be proactive about finding solutions is to send out occasional surveys to your clients. Use the feedback to improve your current offerings or create new ones where you see there is clear demand.
“Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” – Brian Tracy
6. Prioritize marketing
If you have a CEO mindset, your #1 priority is making more sales. And the quickest way to do that is by marketing your business successfully. At Big Domino Marketing, we specialise in online marketing to help the world discover your business so you can make more sales.
Big Domino Marketing is a Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube Ads Agency for established businesses that are willing to invest in paid marketing. We know how to get clients and sales with the power of paid online campaigns.
7. Think beyond your comfort zone
As a CEO, the chances of becoming uncomfortable because of not being in a comfort zone is a reality. But, the mindset of a CEO is one that thinks of stepping out of their comfort zone to reach opportunities.
In a word, unlike an employee mindset, a CEO mindset looks to do better even if it means they have to do things differently and adapt to change.
8. Be relatable but don’t let people take advantage
Another thing that you have to remember with a CEO mindset, is to stop being in “colleague mode” and graduate to “boss mode”. You might find yourself being overfriendly with your staff and that is where boundaries get blurred and you open yourself up to be taken advantage of.
Staff might see this as a weakness and use it to their advantage to start breaking rules.
By all means, be real and approachable with your staff. But at the same time, don’t overdo it. A certain level of professionalism needs to be maintained, even if you run a casual business with only one or two staff members.
This isn’t a hobby, it’s your livelihood and you cannot afford to jeopardise your working environment and brand.
Closing thoughts about building a CEO mindset
If you want your business to succeed, it’s important that you develop a CEO mindset. Cultivating a CEO mindset is not about becoming someone who has that position in the company, but rather embodying leadership traits of successful CEOs so that your employees will follow suit and buy into your vision.
Remember, no matter how big or small your company is, having these qualities can make all the difference in its success!
