NOT How to Be a CEO

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's NOT how to be a CEO: act like business is a zero-sum game in which you try to "win" every day. You can tell such leaders because they often give speeches according to this crude formula:

To help you spot such nonsense, here's a sample speech from an imaginary win-at-all-costs leader:

"We aim to be the best. Not good, not great. The best. If even one company is better than us, then you and I and everyone else on my team will have failed.

"Long ago, I played football. One day, after a long practice, the coach told us we were winners, but we were acting like losers. Coach said he was embarrassed to see great young men who were so blind to their own potential. He just walked off the field and got right into his car. He didn't even bother to bring his gear into his office; it was as though he couldn't wait to get away from us.

"You know what happened that weekend? We beat the other team 72-3. It was the largest margin of victory in the history of our state. It was my proudest moment.

"Some say winning isn't everything. You know who says that? Losers.

"I'm here to tell you that winning is how you know that your hard work and efforts have paid off. Unless you are able to triumph over others, you don't know the measure of your heart and soul.

"We live in a changing world, which means a lot of stuff is changing at once. Some call this exponential change, but I just call it confusing. I have business performance experts who toss a lot of metrics around about net this and gross that, but most of it still sounds like gobbledygook to me. The only moments of shared clarity we ever have are when we win a clear victory.

"If your division generates more revenue than any of its competitors, you win.

"If you outsell all the other sales people, you win.

"If you design a new product that beats the old product two to one, you win.

"But if you walk into my office and tell me you worked really hard, but the people in quality control did a lousy job, and the pricing team got over-aggressive, and the El Nino caused headwinds that slowed our deliveries... and this is why your sales were flat... well, then in my book you are a loser, and losers don't work here.

"Know how I got to be CEO? I beat out 27 others for the job. It may not be politically correct to say this, but it's true. 27 isn't just a number I invented. Over the years, every time a significant competitor emerged, I took note. I planned my strategy for triumphing over him. Truth be told, I got lucky, because a few of those guys had the toughness to outlast me, but when the ball bounced my way, I grabbed it with both hands.

"You need to do the same. Study your competitors. Find their weaknesses. Strengthen your own strengths. Be fierce and relentless.

"Winning is our only mission. Either win, or get out."

An earlier version of this article appeared on LinkedIn in 2014.

Bruce Kasanoff is a ghostwriter for entrepreneurs and executives. Learn more at Kasanoff.com. He is the author of How to Self-Promote without Being a Jerk.