There Was No CEO Manual… Until Now

Announcing a new CEO education, training, and support opportunity.

Did you receive that comprehensive handbook when you were named CEO? What sort of CEO-specific training did you undergo before founding and scaling your company? If you pursued an MBA, how much of your coursework was directly applicable to the decisions that face you now that you reside at the top of the organizational chart?

If you’re like most CEOs, your current position is the first in your life for which you received almost no relevant education and few tools to aid in your success.

Unlike sales, finance, and operations, where courses and resources are available to improve your skills, the CEO position is unique in its ‘the buck stops here’ role. You’ve been on your own and kudos for all you’ve achieved.

Wouldn’t it be nice to make things a little easier, though? If you agree, you might jump at the chance to learn the fine points of crafting and communicating a vision, providing the proper capital and human resources, building and sustaining a culture, making decision-making a competitive advantage throughout the organization, and delivering predictable performance to increase valuation. And to learn said topics directly from an experienced leader who founded and led two companies to $100+M exits.

Introducing American CEO

Giving CEOs a real-world guide is precisely the idea behind American CEO, an organization I’ve launched with Master CEO Joel Trammel. You might know him from the actual CEO manual he wrote, The CEO Tightrope, which helps chief executives excel at the balancing act that is their job. And yes, he’s the one I was referring to above, who hit it out of the park with innovative startups and big stakes turnarounds.

Today, he’s pioneering the field of CEO education and training, an area he found lacking in his 30+ years running companies. I couldn’t be happier to partner with him on this project.

With American CEO, Joel and I are taking a new approach to CEO education. Joel has developed the essential CEO curriculum.

He’ll be imparting his wisdom through our playbook called Chief Executive Operating System, CEOS (pun intended). Joel will deeply cover topics applicable to CEOs to hand-picked cohorts. Call it a classroom or the CEO education you wished you had. I call it precisely the organization I’d have loved access to when I was a CEO.

CEO Education

My story as CEO will probably sound familiar. I’d succeeded in several different careers before starting a business, only to find that I lacked some of the executive skills and tools I needed to be effective. Recognizing that I couldn’t see my own blind spots, I looked for knowledge and guidance.

Back then, the best option was a traditional peer advisory group. I relied on such an organization when the going got tough, and credit my chair and peers for helping me turn my company around and sell it within three years. Impressed by the transformational process, I went on to facilitate CEO peer groups in Denver for years.

Over time, however, I found myself gravitating toward a different model. I wanted to keep the advantages—the unparalleled support these groups offer, their unique ability to expand perspective, their role as a “brain trust” for members—but I also craved more structure.

In addition to responding to issues and opportunities members brought to the table, which might or might not have any overlap with that month’s speaker, I sought a more proactive stance to build critical knowledge and skills in an organized fashion.

When Joel reached out to partner with me on creating an educational class for CEOs, I checked him out. After his business success he had developed ways to serve CEOs through a CEO book, a CEO magazine, a CEO retreat, and a CEO software program. I found out that Joel did not only have a track-record for leading 6 companies, but he was also a respected, dynamic and experienced?teacher. I was all-in. And thus, American CEO was born.

Accelerated Results

Most CEOs rely on their strengths. A founder who has always been on the front lines in business development will leverage sales skills. A CFO who was promoted will pore over the reporting. A former HR executive will have a natural affinity for the people side of the business, while a CIO or CTO will feel at home with technology solutions.

The reality, however, is that focusing on where you’re most comfortable is not a recipe for predictable performance.

To lead the company effectively, a CEO needs to understand more and have the intellectual curiosity to learn.

Often the biggest challenge to expanding your toolkit is time—where to fit in your own professional and leadership development amidst all the other priorities. Having been there, Joel and I get it.

That’s why treasuring your time is in our company values.

Suffice it to say, if you received a secret CEO manual I never got, or if you already know everything, then you don’t need American CEO. But if you’re like the rest of us who could really use a guide, I invite you to reach out and talk: [email protected].