Most CEOs know that their job is growing shareholder value. Since growing shareholder value means growing company value, the CEO must realize that the best way to improve company value is to make plan every month, every quarter, every year.
Ah, you say, there is the problem! Most CEOs and their top management teams are pretty good at developing plans; the rub comes in making plan. Something always seems to get in the way -- the market, the competition, or "lower-level management just didn't carry out the plan". Failure to execute the plan is usually perceived by the CEO and his top management team to be "the fault of lower-level management". Totally wrong! The CEO and his top management team are accountable for the results produced by the people in their organization.
How come? While planning is a critical part of the CEO's job, it is only half. The other half of their job is execution, known as making plan or making the numbers. And the ability to effectively execute is what separates the competent CEOs from the other 95% who continually miss plan for one reason or another. Again - If a CEO doesn't make plan, company value decreases and if company value decreases, the shareholder's value decreases. And, unhappy shareholders dismiss the CEO who can't make plan to find a CEO who can! |
