April 2015
Intermediate to advanced
352 pages
7h 18m
English
Content preview from The Lean CEO: Leading the Way to World-Class ExcellenceCHAPTER 11
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
Start your free trial
CHAPTER 11
REDUCING DEPENDENCE ON THE CEO
The owner-operator CEO is the classic business hero who on any given day may be found solving production problems, negotiating with suppliers, dealing with government, sorting out personnel issues, getting the roof fixed, or, of course, personally handling customer complaints.
In many companies led by wearers of multiple hats, the CEO is the management system. The dilemma here is that much of the company’s success may depend on the leader’s unique knowledge, talents, and relationships. When the job gets too big even for a larger-than-life CEO, the danger, to cite a phrase popularized in Michael Gerber’s ...