7 Resources for Wartime CEO's

"Man does Bob Iger have a crystal ball or what?" My friend Joe exclaimed. "Think about it, Feb 2020 he steps down from Disney's CEO position and appoints wartime CEO Bob Chapek right as the world begins to shut down. The rest of the world thought China was an anomaly, Bob saw the truth."

Joe was right. Instead of Bob having to triage a company that is one of the worlds largest parks and entertainment players complete with massive overhead to manage, he now gets to sit back and talk about his best selling book while new

Unfortunately for us not as prescient as old Bob I, we are still in the trenches. Thanks to this recent world downturn that means we don't get to do much sitting back... at all.

As a private equity fund (Entourage Effect Capital) managing 65 portfolio companies in the capital stared world of cannabis, let me tell you we see CEO's everywhere are making Herculian efforts to save their businesses. Don't worry you are not alone, we see you. It's a reminder that great companies don't ride high tides, they're the ones that can switch from wading to walking as the tide requires.

For those of us who haven't developed that evolutionary ability here are some tools from others who have. May their lessons be your guide.

TOP TEN RESOURCES FOR WARTIME CEO's:

1. CREATE A PLAN Read: The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz. Hands down the best book I've read on how to manage a crisis as a CEO and the absolute inevitability of that crisis coming around.
2. LEAD SMARTER: Read The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene. When crisis hits there is no time for being politically correct. It is time to go to war no holds barred. No one explains what this means more succinctly than RG. If you are looking for real tactics and strategies this is your guide. Be warned it's not for the feint of heart. Then again neither is being a leader.
3. CASH IS KING: 13 Week Cash Flow - Prepare and start using a Rolling 13-Week Cash Forecast (free template) if you aren't already. This one tool is possibly the most important one you can master to maximize the likelihood of survival. I like Keith's free explanation of how to create one here “Business Oxygen." Consider it the first thing we do when we take over a struggling company.
4. CHILL OUT: Charlotte's Web CBD Tincture - Because an anxious CEO helps absolutely no one. This one should be self explanatory :).
5. GET ORGANIZED: Best Self Co Daily Planner - I've used this planner for years now. Admittedly I've tried out a slew of others but I come back to this one because it is so critical to make the main thing the main thing in a crisis. This guide helps me do that daily.
6. FIND CHEAP HELP: Fiverr: When money is tight but you need to get things done, I use Fiverr. For instance I've used it for graphic design, social media content creation, research, data entry and even had startups use these outsourced freelancers to create their pitchdecks. Remember payroll is usually your biggest expense. Use it wisely.
7. GROW SALES: SEMRush: This tool is like a marketing team on steroids. To not move forward during a crisis is a sure way to stagnate, aka die. I'm not a huge fan of PR and marketing UNLESS you do it in a data driven way, these tools help our companies do it on the cheap.

Bezos famously said, "Your margin is my opportunity." I say let others chaos be your key to cash flow.

Codie Sanchez

Follow along for more information at:

IG: @codiesanchez

EEC: www.entourageeffectcapital.com

CS: www.codiesanchez.com

This article is presented for informational purposes only, is an opinion, and is not intended to recommend any investment, and is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in any current or future investment vehicle managed or sponsored by Entourage Effect Capital, LLC or its affiliates. Any such solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest will be made by a definitive private placement memorandum or other offering document.?