The Wisdom Of Intelligent Advice – And How To Turn Gatekeepers Into CEO’s Greatest Asset
Background - the dictionary, please ….
A closer look at the dictionary definition of the world “Adviser” brings simple clarity: “someone who gives advice”, or “an expert whose job is to give advice to another person or to a group of people”. There is no indication, whatsoever - if this definition relates to unsolicited advice or advice given in response to a specific query, or request.
Bringing competent advisers on board is a smart move! A good adviser will help reconsider the validity of CEO’s assumptions. In addition, merit-based Advisory Board improves the decision-making process and helps CEO considering different perspectives.
The most common advice activities revolve around:
· Brand Positioning Enhancements
· Strategy & Execution
· Business Model Refinements
· Corporate & Investor Presentations
· New Business Development
· Raising Financing Rounds, and
· CVC & VC Introductions
Besides, many advisers become the proverbial Sounding Boards to the CEO. And a good Adviser is worth his/her weight in gold! So, every CEO should have one!
Experienced Advisers often realize that some companies have done very well by analyzing their customers with granular details, and selling their products and services to existing customers. And yet, skilled outside Advisers know that there are HUGE and untapped opportunities to generate new revenues by focusing on …. noncustomers!
So, CEOs accustomed to using Advisers, benefit from the Adviser’s operating experience and hard-knuckles expertise. Such insights are invaluable to any company, large or small - and help CEOs validate/reject many assumptions.
Since every successful startup eventually reaches the scale-up phase – the ability to embark on rapid growth is directly linked to the speed of fundraising success. The Startup Genome Report clearly indicates that startups with Advisers to the CEO, raise significantly more funds and at a much faster pace - than companies that don’t.
This has been brilliantly presented by Joe Dwyer’s @joedwy in his recent report from my EMBA alma mater, Kellogg School of Management, at Northwestern University. I highly recommend his latest post - entitled: The complete guide to forming and managing an advisory board.
And without the ability to scale, most startups join the failure statistics - and see their dreams of wealth turning into nightmares of poverty … I can’t OVERSTATE the importance of the above!
In my post: If I could only offer single advice to a progressive CEO – this would be it! I even suggested that instead of convincing individual CEOs, one by one – VCs, CVCs, and PEs should treat the existence of Advisory Boards (ABs) as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) during their due diligence process. Capital providers should insist on seeing a suitable AB in place - ideally, prior to advancing the funds!
I also emphasized how a good AB can add value and broaden horizons of CEOs. And above all, I stated that ABs can improve understanding of the company’s challenges, risks, and growth drivers – especially during major disruptions.
But is it all that trusted Advisers can do? Welcome to the world of CEO Gatekeepers!
Problem – Gatekeepers, the dreaded beasts ….
As Michael Porter recently pointed out: “Running a large global company is an exceedingly complex job. The scope of the organization’s managerial work is vast, encompassing functional agendas, business unit agendas, multiple organizational levels, and myriad external issues. It also involves a wide array of constituencies—shareholders, customers, employees, the board, the media, government, community organizations, and more. Unlike any other executive, the CEO has to engage with them all. On top of that, the CEO must be the internal and external face of the organization through good times and bad.
CEOs, of course, have a great deal of help and resources at their disposal. However, they, more than anyone else in the organization, confront an acute scarcity of one resource. That resource is time. There is never enough time to do everything that a CEO is responsible for. Despite this, CEOs remain accountable for all the work of their organizations”
In general, the most crucial role of any Executive Assistant (EA) today is to become a gatekeeper, so their CEO bosses can get their work done. In practice, EAs are often overwhelmed with administrative tasks such as:
? managing an active calendar of appointments
? completing expense reports
? composing and preparing correspondence
? arranging detailed travel plans, itineraries, and meeting agendas
? Planning and coordinating the CEO's schedule
Considering the above - effective “gatekeeping” becomes extremely difficult if EA must also get involved in:
? Communicating on behalf of the President and CEO with Board members
? Researching, prioritizing, and following up on issues and concerns addressed to the CEO
? Determining the appropriate course of action, referral, or response
? Managing special projects for the CEO, some of which may have organizational impact
? Prioritizes conflicting needs, etc., etc.
So, nobody is surprised when gatekeepers take their job very seriously and ensure that the CEO remains productive. However, overly aggressive and overzealous gatekeepers can hurt the company’s business - without CEOs even knowing it. Left unchecked, gatekeepers could be turning away existing and future clients, blocking new business opportunities - and/or preventing crucial referrals.
In addition, one must accept and realize that quite often, CEOs of other companies will not be comfortable speaking with an unknown staff member about Joint Ventures, or innovative business initiatives that they would like to discuss with a CEO. So, what is overambitious gatekeeper good for? – absolutely nothing!
With no great surprise, the entire cottage industry has been born – offering human engineering shenanigans on how to bypass the proverbial gatekeepers. One can often find advice on how to:
· Treat Gatekeepers Like Gods - let them know how much you appreciate their professionalism
· Use A Personal Touch - send handwritten notes and such…
· Be Confident – talk calmly and don’t forget to show your appreciation
· Don’t Use Calling Scripts – do your research and focus on relevant topics
· Don’t Pitch Gatekeepers – focus on simple value proposition instead
· Call During Off Hours - early mornings, lunch, or late evenings
· Be Persistent – and move on, only after being rejected 3 times, etc., etc.
On being persistent, Warren Buffett said it the best:
Solution - “splitting” Gatekeeper’s personality …
The truth is, no amount of ongoing training will ever allow EAs to be up to date on all changing priorities of their CEOs. Future goals and objectives are often fluid – and frequently await until the pivot takes place. EA’s effective abilities to determine which communications are truly tactical and/or strategic to the company - are weak by design. Separating the wheat from the chaff requires serious consideration and time – which many EAs don’t have.
As mentioned in my post: The Inquiring Mind - And The Power Of Asking For The Opposite, I have learned over the years to question various plans, strategies, and assumptions - leading to the foregone conclusions. Often, the cracks can be spotted by asking for the opposite. For example, if the conditions highlighting why a certain logic works are clearly spelled out – the simplest way to add clarity is to ask: under what conditions the stated logic wouldn’t work?
So, instead of overextending EAs' capacity, CEOs should do the exact opposite, and use their Strategic Advisers to screen the calls! Letting EAs concentrate on administrative tasks only, and forward all the ambiguous calls and emails to a Strategic Adviser – makes a lot of sense! It’s a win-win for the company’s CEO and EA!
Firstly, it will make EA’s job easier. Secondly, it will ensure that each unsolicited proposal will get the attention it deserves. Never again, well-intentioned gatekeepers will prevent important cold calls, or emails - from reaching the CEO. Too many frustrated callers give up on overzealous gatekeepers and take their business elsewhere. And the worst part? The CEOs … never even know about it!
Since useful CEO/Adviser exchanges should resemble a two-way street, every genuine Adviser should present innovative initiatives of their own making. However, he/she can also vigorously reflect on the unsolicited third-party proposal - and openly discuss with the CEO its merits, challenges, and opportunities.
A potent combination of EA/Strategic Adviser can thus truly reflect the proverbial wisdom of “The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts” - first coined by Aristotle, and now often defining the concept of extreme synergy.
The purpose of my recommendations is to ensure that gatekeeping is no longer lopsided. EA/Strategic Adviser mixture offers a greater balance in coverage of both: the positives and the negatives. Otherwise, a lot of good energy is wasted on keeping the losers at bay, and not enough insight is gained from analyzing would-be strategic offerings. This is especially important in situations where finding a real gem is ….. difficult.
And let’s not forget that with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), convolutional neural networks can be built for fast processing of emails and voicemail messages. AI can significantly enhance the lives of both: EA and Strategic Adviser. With Natural Language Processing and Keyword Spotting – neural nets can quickly extract relevant information and guide the individual in charge - to the relevant spot for a final review. For more details, please see my post on above at Keyword Spotting - The Art Of Listening & Observing
Oleg Feldgajer is President & CEO of Canada Green ESCO Inc. Oleg is positioning the company to become a leader in financing AI-enhanced green energy projects and ventures. CGE’s mission is to guide DISRUPTIVE businesses in ENERGY & TRANSPORTATION toward profitable business models. Oleg is passionate about such mission and firmly believes that without AI-based innovation, we will all prematurely choke on polluted air and dirty water. CGE delivers 100% financing (levered and unlevered) to its clients - and utilizes large equity pools, and non-recourse debt. Oleg offers creative, fresh ideas to open-minded businesses - that embrace both: logic AND opportunistic intuition. CGE stands against mediocrity & its modus operandi is quite simple: If CGE is not invited to join your BOD or Advisory Board – we failed!