8 Skills You Must Have to Work With CEO

This article is inspired by Andrew Sobel book. I recommend reading everything written by Andrew.

In this article:

• ?Why you should aim for the top.
• What intense pressures that top executives are under?
• 8 attributes of the trusted client advisor.
• How to get the first meeting?
• How to get the second meeting?

In the era of email automatization Top Executives get hundreds of emails and are under intense time pressure. It is easier to reach out to middle management (and I am not against it) but working with middle management has some risks:

• You can be handled to procurement department where you will be commoditized (in most cases)
• You can become a casualty of cost-reduction program from the above.
• You will be tasked with narrowly defined problems

On the other hand, C-Suite can:

• Create a budget for your product or service
• Are focused on revenues and profits, not just costs
• Make decisions about strategy and policy
• Can unblock a stuck sale
• Can approve large engagements
• Can recommend you to other top executives

You never should forget that CEO are humans and are under intense pressure facing:?

• Very high expectations
• Short timeframes
• Scarcity of the time
• Constant media spotlight
• High turnover
• More choices than ever

C-Suite have personal concerns you can align with:

• Career - All executives are deeply concerned about their careers. They’re wondering: “How am I doing in my current role? What does my boss think about my performance?
• What should my next career move be? Do I have broader support in the organization? Should I think about leaving for a new company?”
• Relationships and network. When it comes to investing their personal time, one criterion that executives often consider is “Can this individual or organization extend my network and provide valuable contacts for me?” Everyone can offer opera tickets and seminars; however, truly valuable personal contacts are proprietary and not subject to gift rules or other corporate restrictions.
• Wealth
• Personal life. We are all humans

And business concerns:

• Growth and innovation. Profits drive stock price and value. "Where is our future growth going to come from? "
• Costs. Cost-cutting is an ongoing program now
• The capital markets. Most executives think about their investors, access to additional funds and their stock price
• Risk.
• The senior team?

You need to be a trusted client advisor to get first and second meeting with C-suite. Trusted client advisors should have these skills:?

1. Selfless Independence - devoted to your client but independent from them - intellectually, emotionally, financially. Say no to your client
2. Empathy - Experts provide answers and tell, advisors ask great questions and listen
3. Deep Generalists - Experts have depth, advisors are deep generalists who have knowledge depth and breath.
4. Synthesis = big picture thinking Experts analyse, advisors synthesize. CEO about most trusted providers:

• He gives me a global view
• She provides additional perspective and helps me to re-conceptualize the problem
• He brings big-picture thinking to the discussion
• Can see overall strategy

1. Agenda Setting - exports respond to clients request advisors set agenda proactively
2. Judgment - Experts make judgments based on the facts, advisors first help their clients avoid bad judgments, and then they base judgments on facts, experience, and on their and their clients personal value system and avoid judgment traps.?E.g.: Confirmation bias, recency bias
3. Conviction - experts have conviction based on the accuracy of their information; advisors have deep-seated conviction based on personal values and a sense of mission
4. Trust - Experts have professional credibility; advisors build personal trust.

Trust is based on:

• Your integrity (honesty, discretion, reliability)
• Your competence (can you do the job?)
• Your orientation (self or client oriented? Whose agenda are you working?)
• Face time also impacts trust

To gain access to C-Suite you need to work hard:?

• Build your brand
• Publishing and speaking - the best ways to support your brand. Use books, blogging, online publishing, newsletters
• Get introduced by a peer - 75% of senior executives will take a meeting only if a person has been recommended.
• Gain access through a more junior executive
• Show how you can help with a key priority
• Build a non-commercial relationship first
• Create a tailored event
• Get one of your firms leaders to set up a meeting
• Do something dramatic

To get a second meeting with C-Suite you need to:

• Build rapport
• Establish your credibility
• Understand their agenda- their priorities and goals
• Get a next step
• Show, not tell. Give examples
• Ask thought-provoking questions
• Have a conversation, not show how smart you are

Don't do these things:

• Walk in as supplicant or be nervous
• Overreach and try to accomplish too much
• Try and sell something
• Work your agenda - it's all about them
• Exaggerate or use hyperbolic language
• Take too long to get to the point
• Overly control the conversation
• Walk through a presentation or brochure
• Bring your laptop computer and a huge briefcase stuffed with files and papers

Good questions to ask:

Uncover their agenda:

• I’m familiar with the broad outlines of your strategy. What major programs are you emphasizing this year in support of it?
• Going forward, what additional capabilities do you need to put into place to support your strategy?
• Where will your future growth come from?
• As you think about the future of your business, what are you most excited about? Concerned about?
• Deciding to do X was a bold move. I’m curious about some of the choices you made. Can you share with me why you ...?
• What are your major priorities this year?
• Why do you want to do that?
• Why do you think that’s happening?
• Why did you decide to do it that way?
• What do you think is getting in the way of accomplishing that?
• What business goal is driving this?

Challenge them

• How did you arrive at 10% as a target?
• Do you feel that’s sufficiently/overly ambitious?

Ask about implementation:

• How would you assess your progress in creating a more client-centric culture?
• What do you feel you’ve accomplished, and where are you lagging?”

Bring in internal insight:

• In working with your people over the last six months, we’ve observed a tendency towards risk avoidance, leading to slow decision-making. Does that square with your own view?
• People are having a hard time making timely decisions. What do you think is getting in the way?

Ask about the external environment:

• Why do you think (competitor X) has grown so rapidly in that market?
• Some of your competitors have created virtual customer communities. Do you have any initiatives in this area?

Help redefine the problem:

• In my experience, changing the organization’s structure won’t have the impact on collaboration unless you also address things like your measurement-and-reward system and your decision-making process. What do you think is really at the heart of the lack of teamwork?

Ask about organizational effectiveness:

• How do you feel about the dynamics within your senior team?
• As you think about your senior team, what skills or capabilities do you wish you had more of?
• What do you think is holding people back from accomplishing this?

Learn more about their thinking:

• What do you think your options are to... (grow your European business...reduce your customer acquisition costs...improve your share of wallet...etc.)?

Understand what makes them tick:

• What was your most important developmental experience in becoming a leader?
• Have you ever experienced a setback in your career?
• How did it affect you?

Remember these pointers:

• Turn your statements into questions.
• Use questions to stimulate a conversation - a two-way exchange. Don't overwhelm
• Ask questions that access emotions, not just analysis. "As you look at the growth of your business over the next couple of years, what are you personally most excited about?”
• Be bold. Everyone can improve the quality and incisiveness of their questions

I've sold to a dozen CXO during my career. Please tell about your experience working with C-Suite in the comments.