A founder is very different from a CEO. Picture a founder as someone who doesn’t fully respect authority, as they know deep down inside they have a better vision than the current system. That is a founder.
Now, picture a CEO. Much like a principal in a school, CEOs are responsible for executing a mission. They carry out decisions of their owners and bosses (shareholders and board members), and they only create after receiving approval from their overseers (again, shareholders and board members).
The visionary capabilities that CEOs possess are very different than the visionary skills that founders possess. Most cannot do both. If they attempt to do both, many times, they fail. But there are a few that can learn to do both. The difficulty is recognizing that the two are each very different categories with very different skill sets.
Founders are oftentimes very heart-lead with a lack of business strategy and will not shift from their original vision to keep their mission alive, which can cause their company to go bankrupt.
Experienced founders and CEOs oftentimes know where they stand in the mix. Many founders will exit their companies at certain stages of growth. Many seasoned CEOs will not work with young companies until they are more mature with a lower risk profile.
From what I have seen, the biggest risk is the bridge from a founding company to an operational business. This is where you will often see bigger businessmen push out founders, consume their intellectual property or attempt a hostile takeover. The world of business is not kind, and many fail due to the surrounding pressures.
What about you? Are you a functioning CEO, founder or both? Or are you neither and looking for advice to take you to the next step? I wish someone would have been able to give me advice on the level I am sharing with you. I may have been able to avoid some of the conflicts I have acquired along the way since opening my first business in 2018.
So, what qualities do you possess? A founder? A CEO? Or both?
Related: 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Took My Company Public
Top 7 traits founders possess
- Thought leader: The ability to see what is needed for a better future.
- Passion: The desire to commit.
- Creativity: Insight to build.
- Empathy: Burning desire to care.
- Discipline: Ability to execute.
- Bravery: Confidence to be told you can’t do it and still push forward.
- Versatility: Ability to shift.
Top 7 traits CEO possess
- Visionary: The ability to see strengths and weaknesses that may put companies at risk.
- Discipline: The ability to show up and execute what is needed to optimize company success.
- Courage: The ability to take board decisions to employees and execute accordingly.
- Strategy: The ability to take a service to market, and the insight to discontinue services the market no longer demands.
- Perseverance: Having the ability to continue to push forward even in times of hardship.
- Objectivity: Having the ability to emotionally disconnect when hard decisions are needed for the betterment of all.
- Humbleness: Having the ability to receive positive and negative comments, criticism and opinions hearing with regard for improvement, not insult.
Related: 3 Innate Traits You Need to Survive the Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship
Top 7 traits that founders who function as CEOs possess
- Visionary thought leader: Envisioning what the future needs and building it yourself.
- Compassion: The desire to improve the well-being of others while creating a better future.
- Courage: Having the ability to create in the eyes of adversity while cutting and optimizing when needed.
- Discipline: Having the skillset to take constructive criticism while still pushing toward the overall vision.
- Versatility: Managing a company’s P/Ls, audits, etc., while optimizing service lines for the betterment of society while also optimizing cost and revenue structures.
- Humbleness: Having the ability to receive comments and actions of all kinds recognizing the need for continual improvement
- Grace: Having the ability to know you did your best today, and tomorrow is another day of growth.
While most of the world thinks that CEOs are an admirable position to be in, much of the world despises the position a CEO holds. Every company has to have a primary representative whose goal is to keep the company’s mission, vision and values alive.
If you are ready to be a founder, a CEO or both, do you think you have what it takes? If you don’t agree with the current CEOs of today, are you ready to help make the change that is needed to improve the society that so many judge?
Here is my advice, “Do it.”
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