 Greetings! I have seen strong evidence of growth in the companies the CEOs I work with lead, and that trend is being corroborated in the news, through Vistage member surveys and by most economists. If you lead a company, you are likely shifting your focus from survival to growth. Last week, in light of the horrific disaster in Japan and some lesser local ones, I wrote about disaster preparedness and managing your risk. In my Deliberate Leadership workshops and Vistage Group workshops I stress that your business, and in fact, every business - is really an investment to be managed. The good news is that, unlike most financial investments you make, you have a direct advantage in being able to control the value and the direction of your investment - if you know how, and understanding that managing any investment is a matter of balancing the risks against the rewards. And, like with any investment, there is a direct correlation between the degree of risk to the expectation of returns. The first step is recognizing that as a CEO or owner you job is to manage that investment. I believe, that is your primary, and your most important job. Taking this one step further, I would assert that the only job the CEO cannot delegate to others is the protection of the company's assets (as these are the means by which the investment generates a return) and being responsible for the growth of the assets and returns - or true profits the company can generate. If you are generating profits on paper - but losing value at the same time, you are really liquidating assets - and more than likely reducing your ability to generate future returns. (If you invest in the markets, you are likely aware that if the stock you are holding loses 50% of its value, it requires 100% growth to return to where you started.) Growth for "growth's sake" is often unsustainable and irresponsible - yet unwittingly, CEOs and companies do this all the time: consuming assets at a faster pace than they are being replenished - and, in essence, they are "growing broke." Many such companies fail. Your job is to make sure your company doesn't. In my coaching practice I help CEOs identify and separate out tasks that they must do themselves from those they should delegate. Most CEOs and business owners spend a tremendous amount of time doing work others should, and are often being paid to do - and finding it impossible to make a priority of the things that only they should and can do. There are many reasons for this, including the inability to effectively delegate, needing to demonstrate their own abilities and importance, having a culture that is reliant around leadership getting things done and sometimes not having the people in place to delegate to. But I have found that the most significant reason is that most CEOs do not recognize the many common risk factors as risks to manage. Most CEOs of small and mid-sized companies are more visionary than financially oriented in nature - and think of "risk" in business as an abstract financial concept. It is not. My friend, colleague and long-time Vistage Speaker, Nick Setchell of Practice Strategies introduced me to the concept of risk "J-Curves that fester in all companies. The J-Curve (it's the hockey-stick we see in all exuberant financial projections) represents something you pay for today with the expectation that it will yield value and hopefully profits at some time in the future. We clearly identify with, and many times are "seduced" by the ultimate benefit - but fail to realize that we are placing our assets at risk until that benefit is actually realized. If you started your company, the entire enterprise began as a J-Curve. There was some level of investment, cash or equivalents, that were made, and some period of time before you not only generated income, but also recouped the initial investment. Until that starting capital is recovered, it remains at risk. Business is all about risk: costs, prices and even availability of supplies are leveraged to external conditions; competition is always looking to close-in; customers can be fickle, key employees come and go; and natural disasters can destroy a company - or even paralyze markets. I believe if there was no risk - there would be no profit to be made. There are 8 Risk J-Curves that companies typically have tying-up their assets include: 1. New Product Development or Market Expansion 2. New Equipment or Facilities Expansion 3. Acquisition of Other Companies 4. Outsourcing or Moving Manufacturing Facilities (overseas or domestic) 5. Opening New Offices, Stores, Warehouses or other facilities 6. New or Upgrades to Technology Platforms 7. Marketing/Advertising Initiatives 8. Hiring New Employees (YES - hiring is always risky - and new hires take time to develop to a point where they generate the value they are paid to produce - see the book recommendation on Hiring 3.0 below.) The risks include diverting cash from profitable operating centers, reducing net cash flow, and reducing output of profitable products and services. The greatest danger is that these projects tend to consume a great deal of management's available bandwidth - and even more so when they run into difficulty. The risk of not paying attention to the areas that are making money is often fatal. The secret is to take stock of these pockets of risk: the allocation of resources; the time-lines associated with reaching break-even; and then recouping the entire investment. The critical path is knowing when to pull the plug on "sunk costs" that are not performing - and ensuring that you have adequate resources to support those that are - especially your core business. This week I also have included insight into the value of iPads and other tablets in the workplace, some economic insight into the crisis in Japan, an book recommendation on changing the way you hire and some TED presentations to watch. As always, wishing you a great and successful week ahead. 
Philip R. Liebman Managing Director, Strat 4 Group Chair, Vistage International P.S. I am pleased to announce that I will be a guest on the radio show "Make Your Move" - with Alan and Brian Beaulieu on April 4th at 4:00 PM. You can tune in weekly to a new radio talk show on the Voice America Talk Radio Network hosted by Alan and Brian every Monday afternoon at 4:00 pm (eastern). Visit www.voiceamerica.com and click on the Business Channel and then click on "shows" or "hosts". You can also call in to the show at 1-866-472-5790. Be My Guest on April 26th. Glenn Waring will be leading a workshop of Effective Financial Management for CEOs. This is a must-attend program whether you are financially astute - or needing to gain a better understanding of your financials, get better control of your financial reporting, how to work with your accountants or negotiate with your bank. If you curious about the value if being a Vistage Member - this is a perfect opportunity to get a look behind closed doors at what my members experience every month. I have a very limited number of guest opportunities. Please call me right away to determine if you are qualified - and for availability. | 
Thanks to Dave Hausmann, one of my Vistage CEO Group members for recommending these two videos. Culling through the hundreds of incredible presentations to make a recommendation is a daunting task. If you are a regular reader of Monday Morning CEO, you know that Barry Schwartz is someone I've directed to you in the past. Steven Levitt's book Freaknomics is also a great read to gain some important perspective on the world we live in.
When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look into the reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.