Top CEOs Regret Making These Mistakes
We often are guilty of believing ourselves invincible and infallible. We don’t believe the same misfortune that befell others would befall us. Instead, we find ourselves capable of devising strategies that antiquate older ones.
It is a sad truth, however, that some scenarios and mistakes are eternal. Unless we are blessed with superhuman foresight, we likely lack the wits at this moment to revolutionize operations and please all parties in our firms forever.
In such a situation, it will do us good to listen to our elders and learn from mistakes that these proven leaders of the world admit to have made in the past:
1. Failing to prioritize time (Leo Laporte of The Tech Guy)
Leo Laporte believed he needed to know every part of his business in order to make it work. What he didn’t realize was how all that stalled the growth of the company by having his time diverted from producing great tech content that he loved. He finally hired a business partner to manage the miscellaneous tasks, and has since never looked back.
While we are bound to have the inexhaustible energy to disinfect every corner of our office and refill the printer paper when required, the sum of the trivial can significantly hamper key progress that can only be done by the key mind of every firm.
If you regularly have to deal with annoyances relating to printing, Canon has the solutions custom-designed to smoothen any bumps in your road, and is just a phone call away.
2. Losing the core team (Mark Pincus of Zynga)
Zynga founder Mark Pincus struggled to bring his mobile gaming company from a small startup to a key market player without the requisite talent from many of his best starting employees. It didn’t help that the firm best known for creating Farmville was then also notorious for employee turnover and culture.
Expanding a company is the result of a combined effort from an experienced team. Since we are no master of all trades, it pays to retain the right people, gift them with customary shares, and align a brighter future.
3. Ignoring customer retention (Andy Taylor of Enterprise Rent-A-Car)
It’s easy to become blind to existing needs when we’re too caught up wanting better and more. Such gross negligence is something that Enterprise Holdings Executive Chairman Andy Taylor advises against after he realized many of his current customers weren’t returning to rent cars.
The most enthusiastic of customers should receive the best treatment. Because these aren’t just the regulars, these are the people who will do the most talking for your brand. And we know today the wonders of such communication.
4. Underestimating competitors (Steve Ballmer of Microsoft)
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer went on record in 2007 saying paying $500 for a mobile phone was a joke. He was referring to the iPhone-just before it was launched. The last we checked, the Windows Phones and Zunes aren’t making the greatest leaps in the market.
Other than learning to think before speaking, we would be remiss to not study the advances of our competitors and trends in the market. World powers always change.
5. Fixing policies recklessly (Randall Stephenson of AT&T)
Again in 2007 when AT&T became the exclusive USA carrier of iPhones, CEO Randall Stephenson approved offering unlimited data plans for just US$30. Yes, unlimited data for $30. Never did he expect the future to involve a glut of data-sucking apps, many of which would go on to replace traditional forms of messaging and call services. The rest, as they say, is history.
We are vulnerable to making quick decisions when excited at new opportunities. But when these decisions ignore what may come after, we potentially set ourselves up for big problems. Problems that can give us head-scratching days and sleepless nights.
It’s never too late.
Mistakes happen, but we learn everyday. Hopefully someday we have our own stories to share with others.