Business tips from leading CEOs: Learning from the best

There are plenty of successful companies in the world today, and it can often seem to entrepreneurs and the owners of small businesses that the lofty heights of multinational corporations are out of reach, and that the CEOs that have driven these companies to success have something that most people do not.

The truth s that those CEOs are not supernatural, and many can be quite similar in their approaches to business and leadership. Talking to these business moguls can shed light on the strategies and more importantly, mindsets, to help take a new business to the next level. With that in mind, here is some wisdom from some incredibly successful individuals with what they all believe are the secrets to success.

Don’t be afraid of failure

It happens to everybody, CEOs included. Many current big bosses have had failures in their career – business ideas that just didn’t take off, bad decisions that came to haunt them, or just plain bad luck. But they did not stop when they encountered failure. Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, said, “Surviving a failure allows you more self-confidence. Failing is a great learning tool, but it must be kept to an absolute minimum.” Not only did Jeffrey refuse to give up, but he brings up a very valuable idea: although mistakes should be kept to a minimum, they can be valuable when they happen. They can serve as moments to reflect and learn what went wrong, and why.

Don’t be a dictator

Owning a business or being in a position of authority naturally puts other people in one’s service. But Larry Sutton, Founder and CEO of RNR Tyre Express, advises against letting that get to your head: “The very best leaders understand that they actually work for the associates as opposed to the other way around.” He argues that serving employees by empowering them and giving them the tools they need to do their best work, is enormously impactful for businesses in the long term. The CEO may be the person with the big office, but that doesn’t make them any better than anyone else. But how does a leader effectively serve their employees and create an environment that breeds success? There is no excuse in the modern world, with services like Airtable and Process Street that keep up with companies, providing information where it’s needed, and offering easy access to help for employees.

Delegate effectively

No one can excel at every task they turn their hand to, and CEOs know this. Bearing that in mind, employees are there to help! With different skillsets across the board, it’s important to make sure employees are being delegated tasks that suit them, and it’s is a simple but effective step in drawing maximum productivity from a team. Matt Lautz, the CEO of Corvisa, has said that, “As a leader, feeling or thinking that you need to do or know it all is very frequent. However, you’ll never be the best at everything. The best advice received from a dear mentor was to focus on what I do best and assign the rest of the tasks to my talented team members.” But sometimes the skills needed aren’t in-house – again, modern technology can come to the rescue. Outsourcing is becoming more and more popular, and services such as virtual marketing agencies can provide the necessary skills when they’re needed, without the need to go through a long and time-consuming hiring processes. From remote IT services to security solutions, business owners have all the skills their companies need at their fingertips.

Stay true

It’s easy to get lost in the pursuit of ever higher profits, but it’s worth remembering that profits aren’t what makes a business special. Lots of businesses successfully avoid bankruptcy, but it’s their values and service that make customers want to work with them. As Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos says, “Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.” With the focus on executing the vision as well as possible, the profit will come.

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