POSSIBLE NEW GAMES AS A FOUNDER AFTER HANDING OVER THE REINS

Every founder has an interesting story worth telling and reflecting upon. Founders have all gone through the journey of building their organizations from nothing to achieving success. Handing over operational control to a new CEO is a significant milestone marking the company's maturity and a major change for the founder. This decision involves more than just staying or leaving; it raises questions like: if staying, in what role? If leaving, then where to?

In this article, I will not discuss the founder's personal career path but rather share new opportunities they can choose when continuing with the organization. Even without daily operational roles, founders can still add significant value to the company through various positions.

Founders can be likened to chess players, needing to design strategies to achieve the ultimate goal—victory! Before the transition, founders typically juggle multiple roles, from strategic decisions to daily management, shaping the company's culture and direction. However, as the company expands, maintaining management efficiency requires more effective resources because:

1. Each leader's skills and strengths differ, and few can develop comprehensively in a short time to meet all organizational needs.

2. Everyone's physical time is limited, and as the company grows, the daily workload increases.

Hence, appointing a dedicated CEO to handle operations becomes essential. The next step is choosing the most suitable candidate as resource for the CEO role, aligned with various development goals. A company seeking growth cannot rely solely on excelling in existing operations but must also develop other business aspects. Where will the resources to meet these goals come from?

With this perspective, the founder's choices become broader and more diverse, unencumbered by emotions or habits tied to the company. Founders can transition to become professional CEOs if it suits their capabilities and is the best choice for the company. Alternatively, they can choose to develop other aspects of the business, creating a new playground for themselves.

After handing over the reins to the new CEO, founders have the opportunity to focus on other areas of the business or personal career paths that might have been neglected due to the daily workload. This not only helps founders rebalance their lives but also offers a fresh perspective on the company they built.

So, if not the CEO role, then what?

1) Strategic Advisor

The role of a strategic advisor enables the founder to continue shaping the company's future without being encumbered by daily operational pressures. In this capacity, the founder can dedicate their efforts to long-term planning, identifying new opportunities, and ensuring the company adheres to its original vision. This role also provides the new CEO with a valuable resource for consultation, thereby ensuring continuity in the business strategy.

No new CEO would decline such support during their onboarding process. Particularly in the Asian work environment, a new CEO must not only manage daily operations, understand new systems, and achieve economic results but also adapt leadership styles and familiarize themselves with key personnel. In these areas, no one can offer better support than the founder.

2) Board Member

Founders can transition to becoming board members, overseeing crucial company decisions and providing support to the new CEO. In this capacity, they help uphold the company's vision and mission, supervise financial matters, ensure management transparency, and maintain regulatory compliance. As board members, founders can offer strategic advice to the new CEO, contribute their extensive experience to key decisions, and utilize their networks to generate new opportunities.

This role allows founders to influence the company without being involved in day-to-day operations. For those who prefer to step back from daily management, remaining as board members provides the flexibility to engage in other pursuits, such as investing in startups, writing books, teaching, or exploring hobbies that were put on hold during the startup phase. This approach enables founders to maintain a balanced life and career while continuing to contribute to the company's growth and development.

3) Champion of Innovation

In an era of constant change, continuous innovation is crucial for any company. The well-known formula for sustainable development involves allocating 70% of resources to maintaining and enhancing successful activities to ensure stable revenue, 20% to activities in the testing and optimization phase requiring further refinement, and 10% to innovation. While innovation represents only 10% of this allocation, it demands significant investment in thought and resources, enabling the company to break through and differentiate itself.

A new CEO is often not ideally positioned to lead innovation efforts, as their focus is typically on daily operations and short-term economic goals. Operational and specialist teams also seldom achieve high efficiency in this area. In successful companies with 5-10 years of experience, innovation usually stems from the founding team. Founders can leverage their extensive experience and knowledge to contribute to the development of new products and services.

In this capacity, founders have the opportunity to continue their passion for creativity and innovation. Achieving success in innovation can generate new revenue streams and enhance the company's competitive position, ensuring leadership in market innovation. Furthermore, the founder's active participation fosters a robust innovation culture within the company.

4) Brand Ambassador

Founders can take on the role of brand ambassador, representing the company at events, conferences, and in media activities. This role leverages their capabilities and reputation, helping the company maintain a positive and trustworthy image with customers and the public. It also creates a favorable perception of change, which is particularly beneficial for service companies whose reputation was established on the founder's personal brand during the first decade.

Within the organization, founders can continue to serve as spiritual leaders, especially if they also act as strategic advisors or board members. Their presence provides a sense of stability for long-term key personnel during leadership transitions and supports necessary organizational change initiatives.

5) Consultant for Other Startups

With their extensive experience, founders can become mentors or consultants for other startups, offering support during the early stages of development. This role allows them to share their knowledge, expand their influence, and explore new investment opportunities.

Transitioning the founder's role after handing over to a new CEO requires meticulous consideration and preparation. A gradual transition allows both the founder and the personnel to adapt to changes smoothly. Even without daily management involvement, the founder should maintain close relationships with the leadership team to ensure continuity and stability. They should dedicate time to training and supporting the new CEO and leadership members, ensuring they are well-equipped to manage the company and facilitate a successful transition.

Each new role presents opportunities for the founder to continue contributing to and influencing the company's development in different ways. With a clear perspective on organizational goals and the necessary resources, the founder remains a key strategist, optimizing resources to achieve both short-term and long-term success. This approach not only creates meaningful opportunities for the founder's career but also fosters the company's growth and development.

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