I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen CEOs causing chaos in a business because they decided to swoop in and ‘add value’ with a new idea that hasn’t been properly thought out or planned.
At the extreme end, a CEO once marched into a sales meeting, announced he could outsell everyone in the room, picked up the phone… and a car crash conversation unfolded that contravened every single rule laid down by the firm for ethical selling. Another CEO dismantled a perfectly good sales process for the sake of change.
I get it. When you first start out in business, it’s all about new ideas, trying things out and learning lessons along the way. The issue with established companies is that they need to run on systems and processes, not lurching from one idea to the next.
So, keep generating ideas, as there will be some gold in there, but have a filtering system that involves others in the business and offers them a way of giving constructive feedback. Remember, as the boss, people might not be prepared to tell you that your idea sucks!
Have you had any experience with well-intentioned bosses causing chaos? Let me know in the comments below.