Today we have a guest blog from Earl Bell:
If you were to discover that a high level of business risk existed where only one person had the relationship, knowledge, skill or ability to perform a certain job task or tasks, would you do about it?” Taking this a step further, what if this applied to you in your role as CEO?”
A harsh reality is that bad things happen to good people all the time. Sudden and tragic accidents, or unexpected health issues like a stroke, heart attack or brain cancer can turn a company upside down overnight; that is if the company is not prepared for such an event.
My strong suggestion is to acknowledge this risk and proactively manage it by creating a red truck plan for the CEO role. This means engaging with your leadership team to design, develop and practice an executable contingency plan which will enable others to lead in your absence.
In doing so, you will accomplish a couple of things:
1. Developing a red truck planfor the CEO role immediately enhances a company’s value by reducing the risk that future cash flows could be negatively impacted by the CEO’s inability or unavailability to lead.
2. Leading by example sends a message to others in the organization that the CEO is serious about building redundancy in the business and that strengthening the team by reducing risk is important. After all, winning in business is a team sport!
Building and preserving company value is a primary responsibility of the CEO. My challenge question to you this week is this… “Will you commit to and engage your leadership team to create a red truck plan for your role as CEO?” Assuming the answer is “yes,” know that this first step will make it much easier to get your leaders, managers and employees to do the same for their roles. If fact, your leadership example sends a strong signal that running the company is a team sport which sometimes requires others to step up when asked!
If the answer is, “no – I will not create a red truck plan for myself,” two questions to ask are; “why are you and your board of directors willing to accept this level of risk” and “what will happen to the company if you suddenly were not available to run the business?
I’m willing to bet that nothing but positive things come out of going through this red truck exercise throughout the company, starting with you. Are you willing to bet otherwise?
EARL BELL
EARL BELL is the author of, Winning in Baseball and Business, Transforming Little League Principles into Major League Profits for Your Company, which provides a roadmap to success for leaders that desire to build thriving companies in a very competitive 21stcentury business environment. Earl believes that “everything you need to know about business, leadership and team building can be learned from Little League baseball.”
Earl conducts workshops, coaches and consults with owners, business leaders and their teams, teaching them how to dramatically reduce the time it takes to improve profitability, customer experience, employee engagement and company value, while simultaneously increasing discretionary time and reducing both stress/employee burnout. He believes the secret to winning in baseball, business and life can be summarized in a simple formula: Winning = Service + Humility. His motto is that Winning in Business is a Team Sport!
Earl has served in the Chief Financial Officer role for numerous companies throughout North America. His personal passion is youth sports and he has coached 28 teams since 2002. Earl is a CPA, graduated from SU (Seattle University) with a BA in Accounting and from the MILL (Mercer Island Little League) with a Master’s in Youth Baseball.
Earl Bell can be reached at [email protected] and 206-420-5946
www.excellpugetsound.com
