Want to Be the Boss? Do This, Don't Do That

In this series, professionals share how they embrace the entrepreneurial mindset. See the stories here, then write your own (use #BetheBoss in the post).

At CEB (where I’m the boss) we describe positive action using “DTDDT” (do this, don’t do that) language, so that compelling new ideas we bring to market don’t just add to executives’ lists of “good ideas they should ponder.” So when I was asked to come up with a post under the headline “Be the Boss,” I immediately tried to think of what gets in the way of being effective, also known as the “DDT” list.

In my case, tenure at (and frankly, pride in) our company is a double-edged sword. I’ll be celebrating my 20th anniversary this coming January, and have had an incredible opportunity to be part of the company’s growth in size and impact over that time. In big round terms, the company is around 20x what it was 20 years ago and it has grown profit faster than that — every entrepreneur’s (and VC’s) dream. To the good, I know the customers, people, investors and business models at a level of depth and richness that would be hard to master quickly. To the bad, I’m pretty confident in my knowledge of the customers, people, investors and business models — whether I should be or not.  

It would be silly to suggest that any leader should discard 20 years of relationships and accumulated “court sense,” in making decisions,  but it’s also important to recognize that tenure can lead to flawed decision making. Good bosses know that markets change faster than memories, and that there is an enormous difference between how things work today and how they worked even a year ago. And for leaders in companies like mine, where – thank goodness – things have generally worked, there’s an even greater risk of missing changes in the market.

The people side of the equation can be even more difficult: changes to the business or to people’s career goals can leave them poorly situated for the mission at hand. While it can be incredibly difficult to face up to a challenging conversation with a one-time partner in crime, these kinds of open and ongoing dialogues are on the “DT” list if you want to take the bridge on the Enterprise.

Being the boss also means surrounding yourself with intelligent, independent leaders – and, importantly, leaders who differ from you in perspective and work style. The hard part here is not the cliché of “hiring people smarter than you” (do that) but “hiring people who are differently smart than you.” And the biggest challenge here is making sure you bring enough self-knowledge to the table to assess this accurately. These are the folks who (at least in my case) keep you honest and force you to have those tough conversations. I’d prefer they used different tactics than the ones my teenage daughters have already mastered —eye rolls and audible sighs — but I’ve learned to self-police a little too. I’m highly aware of certain phrases that suggest I’m playing the role of the corporate historian rather than the boss.

The irony of this is that — given the rapid pace of change in most markets – even new ideas (and new leaders) become “old” fast, so even those who have been in the seat a short time need to be vigilant and become aware of their own “tripwire” phrases. Here’s mine:

• “When I ran this business. . .” No one cares what I did. In fact the team is probably still cleaning up a mess I made.
• “Last time we tried this . . .” In a world where the volume of data doubles every 18 months, the last time we tried this, we probably had a quarter or an eighth of the data we have now.
• “That is against our culture.” This is one of the hardest areas. Culture is really important and can be a huge driver of good and bad outcomes. Great companies invest real energy in defining and protecting key cultural attributes, but over time I’ve seen that culture can sometimes keep disruptive thinkers and ideas out of the company. As a leader, it’s my job to ensure that the culture is protected, but only its most vital elements.
• 

  “We always agreed we’d never . . .”

  While there are certain “always” and “never” statements in business, they usually center on some ethical bright lines. Some of our best stuff – our summits, our software products, and a couple of our trainings– were all consigned to the “never” bucket, until creative teams spotted emerging customer needs.
• “We go way back . . .” In an era of enterprise leadership, it is really important to cultivate and evolve a network that informs you currently. And sometimes this becomes an excuse to not move a leader out of the company or a role.  
• “My sources tell me . . .” If I have better sources than someone running that part of the business, we have bigger problems than the one we are talking about.

What are your tripwire phrases and what strategies are you using to ensure you can look at your business with fresh eyes?