By Jackie Camacho-Ruiz
It was August 2006 when I decided to start my first business in communications as a young Latina that had only been in the United States for 8 years. A lot of people thought I was crazy to start a communications company in a different language that my native one. A big learning curve was ahead of me for sure, not only in the language, bur primarily in the process of running a business. No one could have prepared me for this. Ups and downs, right decisions and wrong decisions, wins and loses, almost all in the same breath.
Now that I have been in business for a 1/3 of my life and celebrating 12 years dealing with every industry there is, I have learned a thing or two about the meaning of being a CEO. I sum up the toolbox for every CEO below based on my perspective.
Human Relations Skills
“Everything you will ever do will be with people, through people and for people”- this is a quote that I learned as a little girl and I have realized how important it is in business. Every day, every interaction with your clients, vendors, team members, prospects and stakeholders requires a level of caring and genuine interest. This is the foundation of authentic relationships that build networks of opportunities. Without trust, which means making someone feel you have their best interest in mind, there is no relationship and if there is no relationship, there is business or more connections. Make it a point to connect with others in the most authentic way so that you can keep growing your footprint in business and in life.
Communication
The power of clear communication is made real in business. When a business focuses on using every interaction with clients as a way to create encounters, magic happens. Why? There is nothing better than having clear expectations, delivering on time and building a relationship in the process. I have come to understand the importance of communication in a communications business. The perfect trifecta of communication is to let the client what you will do, let him know that you are doing it and confirm with him that you have done it successfully. If you can apply this to your business communications, you will experience ongoing trust and growth.
Time Management
Brian Tracy once said “you save 10 minutes for every one minute you plan.” This could not be more true in business. The idea of going, going, going without taking the time to reflect on your decisions can have a catastrophic result for your business. There is value if taking time to visualize your goals, plan them and make them happen efficiently. Every Sunday is my planning day. I take time to visualize every meeting, set up the expectations of results, prepare to discuss all the important and bring visuals to ensure the meeting is the most successful it can be. Being busy does not equate to being efficient or profitability. Oftentimes, with the right planning, I will get done in 20 minutes what would take me more than 4 hours without a direct plan of action. What are you doing to ensure your time is well invested and is producing the desirable results?
Leading with Inspiration
You don’t choose to be a leader, other people vet you a leader. The different between a manager and a leader is obvious. A manager is rigid and focused only on the expected results, while a true leader is vetted by others and leads by inspiration to accomplish results through others effectively. A client of mine had this phrase that stuck with me “extend your wings to get results through others.” This could not resonate with me more. In the process of “leading,” I make sure that I let my team know how much I care about them, often doing unexpected gestures of appreciation, some small and some larger, so that they know they are appreciated. The inspiration continues every day that you use gratitude, appreciation and commitment of your time to the team you care about.
Technology
The evolution of technology allows businesses to accomplish more with less resources and time. Using technology effectively can be the difference between scaling a business and not. If you have not taken inventory of your technology and how it is supporting your business growth, this might be a good time to evaluate it. For example, we use Trello.com for project management and we know exactly the status of a project in “real time” as soon as we log into the app. If we notice a project is failing behind schedule, we can use to ensure that we get back on track. What technology tools are you using today to maximize your productivity and scalability?
Processes
Everything has a process. Everything; even brushing your teeth. There is a pragmatic way to do things efficiently that you can explore for your business. Successful business are founded by visionaries that took the time to define an efficient process to save time, resources, manpower and ultimately to scale. Where do you have the biggest opportunities to create a more efficient process in your business?
I am certain that there are other tools that a CEO can use to run an effective business and scale it, but this toolbox will give you a great start.