4 mistakes I made as a first-time CEO, and how to avoid them

In my first formal CEO role, I made plenty of mistakes.

Here are four I commonly see other new CEOs making as well.

1. I shared too many of my ideas with the team.
   
   I am supportive of collaboration and transparency, but as a CEO, I underestimated the confusion I created by sharing new ideas before they were fully baked.
   

2. I spent too much time doing, not enough thinking.
   
   A strong bias for action should be balanced with sufficient headspace to think calmly. John Boyd’s OODA loop (observe - orient - decide - act) is a great framework I leverage more now.
   

3. I tried to do too much at the same time.
   
   As they say in 4 Disciplines of Execution, “There are always more good ideas than there is capacity to execute.” Ambitious goals require sufficient organizational focus.
   

4. I was too impatient.
   
   I move very quickly, and expect teams I lead to do the same. Aggressive goals and timelines are great, as long as they are realistic and allow people to recharge.

These mistakes are well intended strengths gone wrong.

And they’re entirely avoidable with a business operating system that:

• Captures good ideas from the team without distracting them.

• Creates a structured way to rank and prioritize ideas and initiatives.

• Forces deliberation before committing to execute on new initiatives.

• Establishes a structure that clarifies expectations about timelines.

• Instills a strong sense of accountability at both the team and individual level.

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