September Issue

Welcome to my newsletter. Consider this a collection of insights and ideas from myself and the team at CEO.works.

If you are staying on top of the news, it should be no surprise the reports that the global economy is weakening amid high inflation, the geopolitical landscape, and the subsiding effects of a global pandemic. How can you, as your organization's CEO, stay ahead of disruption during times of exponential change? My friends and colleagues Shefali Salwan and Megan Blouin shared their perspectives on this topic last month, and I think they are worth sharing with you here:

Worried About a Recession? You Might Need A Critical Roles List

Inevitably, whether through inflation, supply chain disruptions, global political turbulence, or other 'Force Majeure'—change hits—suddenly and without warning. When this happens, insightful CEOs need to pivot towards the?must-do?work and the?must-have?roles connected to that work. This practice will enable precision in any business transformation but is especially important during times of forced change.

It is imperative that every CEO knows which roles are most critical so that they can ensure the right people stay in the right jobs.

Do you know the 20 roles in your company that will drive 80% of the value?

This question is challenging for many CEOs to answer in steady market environments, and it can become next to impossible to answer in a turbulent one. This is where Talent to Value? comes in.

Talent to Value is a process that uses targeted analysis to focus on the fewest, most impactful points of value creation. It allows leaders to clarify the work and roles required to realize that value.

Unsurprisingly, many of our clients come to CEO.works when facing turbulent times. We are a transformation-enabling company—we work with organizations undergoing all kinds of change and are well-versed in the subject. We help our clients build the capabilities required to survive and thrive through challenging times and beyond.

?How Critical Roles can drive value—fast

One client, a North American Beverages company, came to us with a problem. They knew what their future sources of value would be but were facing intense market pressure and could not invest in growth without taking cost out. In their words,?"We need to obtain deep insight into the rationale of cost take-out decisions as well as the strategic ambitions of our business to ensure we cut the fat while protecting and building the muscle."

Instead of completing a vague benchmarking exercise, an even more ambiguous 'ratio of people to revenue' analysis, or a by-the-book 'spans and layers'—which would result in headcount reduction according to the organizational hierarchy—this client came to us for an innovative solution.

Together we anchored around getting precise alignment on the value agenda, which would double EBITDA in 3 years. This was followed by a structural review of the organization, which uncovered significant redundancies in the supply chain and finance functions. We leveraged the Talent?to Value?process to enable the CEO to laser in on the Critical Roles at the company which would be the most impactful tomorrow, as well as the ones which were redundant and 'leaking value' today. In doing so, we helped him create his Critical Roles List.

We generated $80M of value for our client in just four weeks. More importantly, we helped them ensure precision in their cost-saving efforts. We also removed redundancies without impacting the critical sources of future value. Eighteen months later, the client's EBITDA had grown by 1.5x - putting them well on track to meet their 3-year EBITDA goal.

You can follow this link for the full article.

CEO.works Europe Webinar Next Week

If Shefali's article piqued your interest in Critical Roles or Talent to Value?, you will enjoy an upcoming webinar with our European Managing Partner, Hein Knaapen , and former Novartis CHRO and private equity advisor Steven Baert . On Thursday, September 28th, they will discuss their experiences as Chief People Officers for global enterprises and share their insights on how they successfully aligned their people strategy to value creation. You can find all the details about this webinar, including registration information, by following this link . You don't want to miss this conversation.

Random Acts of Kindness Tour Picks: The Diamond Sports Foundation

I am thrilled to share with you this charitable collaboration I am embarking on with my friend of over 40 years,?Sam Shriver . Sam and I were cadets a lifetime ago at the United States Coast Guard Academy; we had the opportunity to serve together on staff at the Coast Guard Leadership School. Then took jobs together at?The Center for Leadership Studies , working for Dr. Paul Hersey in the early 1980s. We followed different trails for several years and were reunited by our mutual friend Marshall Goldsmith some time ago.

I recently learned that Sam established?The Random Act of Kindness Tour ?(RAoKT), an annual fundraising golf tournament to help raise funds for a charity they select. Each year participants (many of whom are USCGA graduates from our general age group) solicit sponsorship from potential donors. The RAoKT selects a rotating charity each year and provides that charity with 100% of the funds they raise.

This year, I am happy to announce that the?Diamond Sports Foundation ?–an organization my wife Maria and I founded to help underprivileged youth have access travel diamond sports–will be the benefactor of this year's RAoKT support! The tournament will take place this year in Bonita Bay, Florida, from October 12th – 16th.

If you are in a position to sponsor a player in this year's tournament, please click on this?Sponsor a Player ?link and follow the prompts (my name and Sam's name are the first two options, but I am confident any player listed would welcome your support!).

Thank you in advance, on behalf of all involved with this endeavor, for your active consideration!

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