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Being a CEO is a hefty responsibility, but it’s one that the best of them tend to relish. Millions of people around the world look to some of the most prolific CEOs in recent times – from the late Steve Jobs to social media wunderkind Mark Zuckerberg – for tips on how to improve as a leader as well as how to optimize their work performance.
In most instances, it seems that consistency is key. Many of these CEOs have built simple habits into their day to day lives that allow them to function at their peak. Zuckerberg, for example, is known for wearing the same outfit every day. When asked why, his rationale is that it cuts down on the mental energy required for him to go through his day – especially when he already has to make countless important decisions when it comes to running Facebook.
While we are not advocating sticking to a wardrobe of just grey T-shirts indefinitely (unless you want to, that is!), here are three simple habits that you can work on incorporating into your day to make you a better and more efficient CEO.
Complacency is a problem that many leaders, especially those in charge of large corporations, tend to run into. While processes serve an important purpose, today’s rapidly changing business landscape means that leaders have to constantly try to find better and faster ways to accomplish business goals. To do so, CEOs may have to go out of their way to experiment with different ways of doing things.
CEO of Particle Zach Supalla swears by trying new things and changing the way he works in order to become better leader. Particle is an Internet of Things startup that first raised over $1.1 million on Kickstarter and then an additional $4.9 million in series A funding.
Similarly, forcing himself out of his comfort zone led to CEO Raaja Nemani to co-found Bucketfeet. The company would never have existed, Namani says, if he had not met co-founder Aaron Firestein on a chance encounter in Buenos Aires.
Staying up to date with the latest trends is essential, especially with the rapid rise of new technologies. Whether you’ve been a CEO for a year or a decade, the importance of constant learning is important for leaders to stay on top of their game. Once again, leaders who fail to make self-improvement an important aspect of their daily routine may soon find themselves rapidly falling behind.
Daily learning and self-improvement is simple and runs the gamut from keeping up with tech news daily like Michael Bruch, founder and CEO of social media platform Willow, to learning from the experiences of other leaders through watching YouTube videos like Lydia Gilbert, who runs Dia&Co.
The day to day running of of a business is often a stressful affair, and burnout for high level executives can be a real issue. This, however, can be overcome by reminding yourself daily that although running a business can be difficult, choosing how to react to unpleasant situations is a personal choice.
Mike Bloomberg has said that he does not do “bad days”, while Gary Miliefsky, CEO of Snoopwall, credits a positive mindset to being able to overcome all obstacles.
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