Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62199
In good times, the CEO has very little to do; but in bad times, the CEO has to be all over the boat. In today's economy, a company thrives based on its ability—and the ability of its CEO—to execute efficiently and react quickly to unforeseen threats. CEO by business school alone. Instead, I think it's something you become as you slowly develop common sense—make that common business sense. It happens only after a steep, time-consuming learning curve and the realiza- tion that you just can't know everything. Now that I've accomplished stare on your face. My solution is to do my thinking in the car. Recently, traffic in the Silicon Valley has improved as the economy has wors- ened. I've actually found myself craving more traffic to give me time to think with abandon. I now realize that the MBA was not the magic bullet to CEO-dom. The MBA degree exposed me to a wide range of disciplines and business programs, but it didn't teach me how to solve problems or how to get the most out of people. I don't think MBA students realize just how many identities they will have to assume— and just as quickly discard—on their way to the top. Much of what they learn in one position will be irrele- vant to the next. For instance, as my classmates and I settled into our entry-level positions and began to specialize, we soon were typecast as "marketers" or "finance experts" or "IT persons." As we moved up, we had to learn to shake off those identities with each new promotion and become com- fortable taking on positions in which we had absolutely no experience. I clearly remember my first senior management position when I real- ized I couldn't do the jobs of those I supervised. That realization was frightening. It's important that today's busi- easier as every week goes by. Students who dream of sitting in everything I set out to do, I have to ask myself, could it be that I've spent the last 20 years of my life working toward a goal that wasn't right for me? To be honest, I'm only a few months into the job, so it's really too early to tell. Any new job can be over- whelming at first, and a CEO's job can seem even more so. While I'm not having fun yet, I admit that being a CEO gets ness students realize that the path to the top isn't just about seeking added responsibilities or even work- ing hard, though those things surely help. It's really about learning to adjust to the unfamiliar and being able to act without all the answers. Learning to act despite that uncer- tainty is what teaches you to lead. I've come to think that no one is really "born to be a CEO." And, surprisingly, no one can learn to be a the "big chair" must realize that the view is much different than it may seem from the other side of the desk. They must be able to look beyond the moniker of "manage- ment" and learn what a CEO really has to do—take risks, hope for the best, and clean up the mess when things go wrong. As for me, time will tell whether or not I'll be a good CEO. So bring on those messy problems, bring on those sticky issues. I'm ready to meet them head-on. In the mean- time, however, I've added "dia- mond-encrusted crown" to my new budget. After all, I am the CEO.■ z Greg Harris earned an MBA from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and is president and CEO of MonitorsDirect.com. BizEd MRCH/APRIL 2003 55