COO

Heading Into the Wind

By Tom Cramer

When the commander of an aircraft carrier gets the order to launch his planes, he immediately checks with his navigator to determine his heading. He then turns his ship so that he is fully heading into the wind so that his pilots will have the best chance for a successful launch. The View from the Cockpit In one of our earlier posts, we spoke of looking at your position as sitting in the cockpit. It is worth returning to that aviation metaphor to review the mindset of flying off into the wind. It …

Always Be Selling

By Tom Cramer

In my conversations with the members of our group, I find a series of topics that are raised consistently and across all industries and markets. One of the more prevalent concerns is that of “being out of your comfort zone.” What I have found is most of us get into business to follow an idea or concept based on a specific strength or experience or idea or all of these. That is the natural course, but then we all find that business involves many areas in which we feel lost, incompetent, and …

Who’s in the Cockpit? (Part 3)

By: Tom Cramer

In our earlier discussions concerning the modern C-Suite, we discussed in Part One the evolution of the leadership roles of senior corporate executives. We looked at several of the key functional areas of leadership in Part Two. Adapting Your C-Suite to Reality We fully understand that many of you read those articles shaking your heads a bit, thinking how wonderful it would be to have a full team of professionals helping you fly your plane. It is a simple fact that for smaller and middle-sized businesses, the senior leadership is often …

Who’s in the Cockpit? (Part Two)

By Tom Cramer

As we discussed in Part One of this series, the role of and the makeup of the C-Suite is constantly evolving. The basic needs of leadership and technical specialties and skills are increasingly essential to survival and success. However, the ability to respond to a changing business and work environment is more vital than ever. One empirical proof of this aspect of the change in the C-Suite is the job descriptions provided to executive search firms for various C-level executives. The experience and skills are still listed. Increasingly, those will be almost …

Who’s in the Cockpit?

Part One In just over a century the field of aviation has evolved from near-reckless adventurers flying rickety single-seat planes by “the seat of their pants” to incredibly sophisticated behemoths flown by professional crews following rigorous procedures. This evolution has made flying one of the safest modes of transportation in history. Likewise, in just over a century the world of business has morphed from small businesses run by entrepreneurial individuals seeking to eke out a profit in their own little niches. Today we see the mega-corporations managed by professionally trained executives following disciplines that utilize …