Advice for CEOs

Please pardon if I indulge myself in an of elucidation on one of my new favorite movies, Inception. One trip through Christopher Nolan‘s dream epic is not enough to start connecting the dots on its symbolism. I was just trying to keep up my first time around; Nolan is writing and directing ninja. The second time, however, I felt the freedom to participate in Nolan’s multiple metaphors, starting with reality and ending in the “Basement” of the hero’s prison of memories.

Psychologists refer to this as the paradox of power. The very traits that helped leaders accumulate control in the first place all but disappear once they rise to power. Instead of being polite, honest and outgoing, they become impulsive, reckless and rude. In some cases, these new habits can help a leader be more decisive and single-minded, or more likely to make choices that will be profitable regardless of their popularity. One recent study found that overconfident CEOs were more likely to pursue innovation and take their companies in new technological directions. Unchecked, however, these instincts can lead to a big fall.

In an earlier post I described how critical it is that an entrepreneur capture much if not most of the value that you create (versus your customers realizing the value because you lack pricing power).There is nothing more important to an emerging growth company than its value proposition; the reason why customers buy your good or service - versus buying another product category or another product like yours from a competitor.