

Making Yourself a CEO - FilterJoe
http://bhorowitz.com/2012/10/17/making-yourself-a-ceo/

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mratzloff
This reminds me of the first time I fired someone. I spent probably a week
mentally planning how to do it--thought about how the conversation would go in
the car, in the shower, before I went to sleep. The guy had a wife and kids
and I was getting ready to put him in the unemployment line. I felt especially
guilty because he shouldn't have been hired in the first place; we were
desperate at the time. That was a mistake I made against my better judgment.

When it came time to actually have the conversation at one point he stopped me
(I was busy trying to soften the blow) and said, "This sucks, but I get it. I
understand." And I realized that I had prepared him for that point for months
and that what was coming wasn't ultimately that much of a surprise.

Since then I've resolved to just be straight with feedback. For most firing
situations, it's simply because it's not a good fit. Being able to look
forward to a better situation in a couple months is enough to make most people
accept the decision.

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untog
I will always be thankful to a former boss of mine, who took the lead on
firing a developer that just wasn't up to scratch, and asked me to be present
when it happened.

He kept it very, very short- the rationale being that if someone is expecting
it, then they know the reasons why. If they aren't expecting it, then the
shock means they're unlikely to listen to anything else you tell them anyway.

If they want feedback at a later point, great. But in that moment, it's easier
on both of you to just get it done.

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sdh
Are these real CEOs or idealized CEOs? I've worked for CEOs who were horrible
people and yet extremely successful (ie: running profitable businesses and
having repeat success).

Sadly, the nice CEOs I've had were failures building companies.

From my observation, the quality that defines a CEO is that they are oblivious
to their own faults and the feelings of others.

They are like bad dancers with confidence. They have no idea they look like an
idiot or that they're making you uncomfortable, and if they did, they wouldn't
care.

~~~
modernshoggoth
The thought of a couple of chubby assholes in suits I've known over the years
doing ballet badly is _immensely_ pleasing.

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daemon13
The best book I have read [out of probably 100+] on management is "The
Effective Executive" by Drucker.

The book is pretty thin and was written mid-last century but still holds it's
value versus all else we have now.

In addition to providing a framework and mindset on how to become an effective
executive, the book also explains why/how it's possible to have shitty people
be great CEOs and vice versa - because being effective has nothing to do with
personal qualities [nice, kind, mean, etc].

I recommend reading this book to anyone who would like to become a better
executive or who would like to better understand the other side of truth.

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ironchef
Related to the shit sandwich, one other thing I always liked @ ldcl/opsw was
making sure there was constructive criticism during the performance reviews.
While it was great that reviews were 90+% "You're awesome and I want to bear
your children", having something to work on presented during those times
always stuck with me. It definitely helped me develop (for example) way better
time management skills (a weakness when i started there).

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OldSchool
If you start a business and have majority ownership you can always be CEO, but
CEO's not for everyone. You can most definitely read books on leadership,
charisma, networking, etc, and go act out the role for a while if you're
motivated enough. However if you're really a private-type technical person at
heart, amazingly once you can afford to hire someone else to do that job
(without losing your majority status) you may suddenly find that you don't
want it anymore. If that's the case it will probably be better for your
company too. Some engineers make great CEO's of course.

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kruken
Sage advice not just for CEOs but for anyone leading a team. Direct,
constructive feedback is a great way to encourage open communication. Give
early, give often.

~~~
tedmiston
I recently joined a team where the leader is very good about giving honest,
no-BS feedback while being polite and respectful. It rubs off on everyone on
the team. It might seem like a subtle difference, but this improves everyone's
attitudes vs. those with a less-experienced leader. Having a team in which
each member can give/receive feedback well makes the group experience _much_
better.

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rweba
I liked his last sentence "This is how you get made" as it seems to
simultaneously allude to the concept of "Made Men" in the American Mafia and
to Horowitz's penchant for putting quotes from gangsta rap in his blog posts
:-)

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dools
You mean "Made Women"?

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woodchuck64
"Don’t clown people in front of their peers."

Okay, I gotta know: how did that strange typo-- down/clown-- get in there?
That seems like a scanning error, not typing error.

Edit: Oops, I learned a new verb. Thanks!

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tedmiston
Not a typo -- lingo from hip hop. B. Horowitz is a big hip hop fan. He invests
in Rap Genius.

On a related note, I think "Birthday Song" was included at the top of the post
because it tries to hide nothing. The lyrics are honest & straightforward much
like how he argues feedback should be.

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kevinw
While the "shit sandwich" tactic mentioned in this article is definitely a
negative experience, I feel that in some cases it's better than coming out of
the corner throwing full punches. If nothing else, it implies that one is at
least trying to follow the broad advice in this article and avoid making
issues into ad hominem attacks, even if the actual method used is flawed.
Great article overall.

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pnachbaur
Really valuable article. As a junior employee I find I'm treading a fine line
trying to practice these values, especially when the 'culture' isn't always
trickling down. I'd enjoy reading more about this stuff from that perspective,
which I suppose falls into the category of 'managing your manager'?

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001sky
_Feedback is a dialogue, not a monologue

You may be the CEO and you may be telling somebody about something that you
don’t like or disagree with, but that doesn’t mean that you’re right. Your
employee should know more about her function than you. She should have more
data than you. You may be wrong._

\-- This is a process

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Grovara123
Well done Ben - I'd also add that CEO's are really good listeners.
Conversations should always be 60/40 the majority being with the opposite
party of the CEO.

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AYBABTME
I think the author meant "leader" when he wrote "CEO". CEO is a broader term
that englobes many other aspects apart from leadership only.

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AndresOspina
Leader is for me the correct definition of the title.

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combray
How are the skills he's describing any different from being a parent or a
teacher?

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diN0bot
First part of the post is a song about wanting a big booty ho. :-/

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tvladeck
BH really loves that boxing reference.

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majani
Come on Mr. Horowitz, quoting 2 Chainz in an intellectual article?! :D

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wilfra
"More senior executives will recognize the shit sandwich immediately and it
will have an instant negative effect."

Why would it have a negative effect? Even when you realize people are just
being polite, most people still appreciate it, no?

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bpm140
The shit sandwich is a tool used because you feel the person isn't capable of
handling direct criticism.

When using the shit sandwich on a senior report, you are implicitly stating
that you don't believe _they_ can handle direct criticism.

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donkeylipstick
I'm not in a senior position and I HATE getting the shit sandwich, it's
irritating and insulting. Most of my coworkers (in various positions of
seniority) also hate it.

I wouldn't use it period, unless you know for certain the specific person
cannot handle criticism.

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ezpassmac
The opening lyric is a little confusing. "She got a big booty so I call her
Big Booty." CEO's aren't necessarily good leaders; that's not why they're the
leader. CEO's are the founders. Find a better lyric, maybe? Right?

