How to Become a CEO

Video Transcript

"I would characterize myself as being sort of the accidental CEO. I started my company but really I don't think in a small company when you are pretty much the whole company to start with that you are really much of a CEO. You sort of grow into it. When my company passed a certain size we eventually had 50 full time employees and another 200 hourly part time employees and it was a big job. That is when you have to develop your CEO skills so I would characterize myself as being sort of an accidental CEO. I do know that when I started that one of the things I tried to do over and over again is, I was using the skills of a professor. And I expected my company would be sort of collegial and would make decisions together and that is not how it works. The CEO's role is to make the decisions with the council and the input of other people so you really learn on the job and you learn as you go. Well I needed a job and if you have been a college professor, you are not very good at working for other people so I think that is probably the principle reason why I did it. I am not a terrific employee and I eventually learned how to be a successful CEO. Well it's interesting in large companies you can think of it as a career pathway. You start with a company and you move up and then once you get to that level you may move from company to company to where the opportunities open up. There is really not a career path for the CEO. It really is a long grueling sort of race and only the relatively few have all the skills it takes to do it, ultimately to get the job or keep it and it is interesting. It is sort of a combination of people who have great will and personal passion and are high achievers but also are able to control their own egos and that and recognize that once you become a CEO you are really working through everybody else. It is not really what you do it is what other people are willing to do for you and for the firm."