The CEO Test by Adam Bryant

Author:Adam Bryant
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Published: 2021-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

His experience is a powerful reminder that there has to be a shared understanding about the current state of affairs before meaningful discussions can start on what needs to change. “You have to stop and focus and make sure that you’re building an objective view of what the current state is and not bending to the political sensitivities in the room,” McNamee added. “It’s like building a case for the need to change.”

Given the success of the transformation at Amgen, other CEOs often reach out to Bradway for his advice. “I always start with the same question: Are you going to lead it or are you going to delegate it?” he said. “If CEOs delegate transformation, your organization figures it out overnight, and they will be less motivated to follow through. If the CEO is really on it and devoting energy to it, the organization figures that out as well. They realize, oh, I guess we really have to do this.”

BetterCloud

Amgen and the New York Times were able to plan and execute their transformations from broad and solid foundations. They had clear missions and reasons for being, and they needed to reframe how they operate to build on their already well-established strengths.

But what are the lessons of transformation for the thousands of entrepreneurs who grind every day for new customers and for every additional dollar of revenue to build their companies and keep their investors off their backs? Yes, they must master the art of the pivot—the constant fine-tuning adjustments to better meet the demands of the customer. But what if your entire business model suddenly comes into question? Such existential threats require wholesale transformation, magnifying the challenges and accelerating the timetables for change in ways that provide powerful lessons for founders and their leadership teams.

Many CEOs of young companies are reluctant to share such stories, preferring to put up a confident front for their customers and investors. But David Politis of BetterCloud believes that startup CEOs should share the dark moments they face so that they can all learn from each other. “I think it’s important as an entrepreneur to be open about the challenges, and not trying to live the Instagram life of only the really, really good things,” he said. “If you ask entrepreneurs how they’re doing, they almost always say, ‘I’m killing it.’ And you want to say that, but I couldn’t hide what was happening at our company.”

“I think it’s important as an entrepreneur to be open about the challenges, and not trying to live the Instagram life of only the really, really good things.”

—David Politis, founder and CEO, BetterCloud

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