JOHN FREEMAN!
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CEO is a Lonely Title
Last year, I served as the Director of our largest program at the Entrepreneurs Club, the Husky Startup Challenge, in addition to being the interim Vice President of the organization. I had the honor of working directly under Aaron Gerry, who was President last year and graduated in May 2011. During that year, Aaron served as a mentor and guide for me. I looked up to him and depended on him when I needed help or got stuck with a problem… and he was always there for me.
Having someone there for you is the key here - you get that privilege as a VP, a manager, an assistant or as an employee. You have a boss that you can defer to for big decisions, and who is responsible for you if you make a mistake.
Well fast forward a year and I was promoted to President. I was beside myself with joy and excitement. Finally, I got to set the vision, lead a group of my peers and architect the building of something great at Northeastern. As I settled into the role, I suddenly realized, “Oh wow, Aaron isn’t here anymore.” And it was then that I realized how much I leaned on Aaron the year before. Because if I messed up, it was Aaron’s problem. If I missed a deadline or couldn’t figure something out, it was Aaron who had to pick up the slack. Now, things are very different. If I mess up, it is my problem. And if any single person on my team messes up, it is my problem. If something doesn’t get done, guess who has to do it?
I didn’t understand it at all until this year, and I couldn’t understand it until I had the honor of being in the top role in an organization. As the President or CEO, you have to worry about everything, because you are ultimately responsible for everything. Instead of a budget for one business unit, you might oversee 6 different budgets. You go from managing assistants and team members in your division to managing the managers who manage the assistants and team members. That’s a tongue twister.
So what is the big takeaway?
I have a lot of respect for anyone in the CEO role.
Especially in large organizations, these folks have a tough job. They really are alone in their role. They can (and should) ask their team for plenty of input. But ultimately, they are the ones that have to make the big decisions. And they are the ones that are ultimately responsible for the outcome of those decisions.
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“Molting” from Sterling Hundley’s Blue Collar/White Collar monograph by Adhouse Books.
“Illustration is Blue Collar – both pervasive and accessible. It is art that must survive in spite of commerce and function. There is a desperation to the thing; illustration that doesn’t work doesn’t eat. Given limitations in time to communicate and the space in which to do it, illustration must answer a question.
Fine Art is White Collar – reclusive with airs of mystery and sophistication. It is pursued. Given the abundance of space in which it is viewed and the time which it is afforded, fine art has the luxury of asking a question.”
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The Next Wave
The more I hear them talk about my distracted, lazy generation, and the more I see sights like I did tonight, the more I realize that I should probably stop listening to “them.”
We had an entrepreneur’s club meeting tonight, the first of the semester. It was packed to fire hazard levels, with around 200 people crammed into the room. The leadership set a specific goal for the club that I think is both awesome and possible - to see somebody in that room on Businessweek’s 25 under 25 next year.
I announced the goal and saw more than a few eyes light up and heads nod; not in a superficial way either. From what I saw, it was an answer to the challenge - more “we can actually work hard and do this” than “wouldn’t that be awesome if we could do this?”
Is that an accurate judgment? The proof will be in the pudding as time goes by, and it will be fun to watch. But there’s something greater happening here, way past the boundaries of our little club.
This generation recognizes that the world has changed, and I don’t think the mainstream media or even lots of great people in business (who happen to be older) necessarily think so. We’ve had this knowledge for a few years now, but soon - very soon - I think it’s going to start becoming action and impact at a much larger scale.
Growing up and living with the simmering tension of the economy, security, and rapid technological advancement has given this group two assets that I don’t think any other generation has ever had, at least for a very long time.
1) An appetite for chaos (more than a tolerance).
2) An intense desire to solve real problems on a huge scale.
Time will tell if the people that spend these formative years in tough financial times emerge stronger or satisfied with the mediocre. My gut tells me it’s the former.
What do you think?
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