Jack Jacoby | CEO Mentoring Blog & forum to be a Leader

We suspect that when you acquire or make a significant investment in an early-stage company, your investment colleagues always consider the risk and suitability of the entrepreneur and those close to them, to take the company to the next stage. You know that the entrepreneur knows their products or services, but you will be asking yourself questions such as: *Does the entrepreneur have the required management experience and skills to handle the issues in functional areas where they feel less at ease (e.g. manufacturing, supply challenges, customer challenges, channel issues, industrial relations challenges, stakeholder management, marketing, and so on?) *Do they have the leadership skills to increase headcount and at the same time keep their people motivated and engaged? Creating a product, idea or concept is one thing; but can they manage the growth and all its implications? *Is the entrepreneur ready to keep focused on running the business and…

Leadership

How to survive in a large firm? The 10 Laws for Success.

October 14, 2019September 18, 2019| Jack Jacoby|Leave a comment

I have had the opportunity of experiencing and observing corporate life and culture from within the organisation as a manager, CEO and board member; and from the outside looking in, as an advisor, consultant, researcher, shareholder and observer. I have thus been able to reflect on the operations and effectiveness of corporations and organisations in the for-profit, not for-profit and government sectors; and on the people within those organisations. In that context, I am firmly convinced that to survive and ‘prosper’ (from a career perspective) in an organisation, one needs to understand the corporate context in which the ‘game is played’, and be competent in the ‘playing of the game.’ I am of the view that people within larger organisations who have career aspirations within or beyond those organisations, need to practice the 10 Laws of Corporate Survival. 1. Non-Existence of a Cultural Vacuum. Understand that the organisation is not…

Leadership

Champions, Change Agents and Change Advocates

August 30, 2019September 29, 2019| Jack Jacoby|Leave a comment

change management - your success as a ceo with mentoring

Champions, Change Agents and Change Advocates are people within the organisation who are knowledgeable about a change initiative, who promote and support it, and with whom employees and stakeholders can direct their questions and concerns. They form a bridge between the change initiative (and its management team) and the organisation, and are an important conduit for communication in both directions. Each Champion, Change Agent and Change Advocate may be assigned to a part of the organisation (or stakeholder group) with which they have familiarity and where they are well regarded and respected. Why is this important? The Champion (or Change Agent, Change Advocate) are essentially the face of the project. Over time it’s common for people who work with the Champion to directly approach the Champion with issues, concerns, advice etc. Such dialogue is encouraged as it assists the project understand the temperament and responses of the business in a…

Contribution from Subject Matter Experts (SME), Leadership, Minimising Risk, My Professional Growth, Top questions to ask

How to tell if you need a Mentor?

July 8, 2019July 10, 2019| Jack Jacoby|5 Comments

advice-session-ceo forum- mentoring - ceomentoring -gfm mentoring

People often assume that leaders automatically come up with the right answers because of the position they hold. The thought is that “they wouldn’t be leaders if they didn’t come up with the right solutions most of the time.” One would like to think so, but the reality is different. The leader of a business or organisation on Monday morning, may have ‘only’ been an executive last Friday. On Friday, they were good, perhaps very good, but not perfect. How did they become perfect over the two days between subordinate and boss roles? Leadership is as much about learning, evolution and personal growth as it is about the innate skills of leadership. The reality is, they didn’t. One of the ways that the gaps in skill, experience or world-view can be filled is by using a suitable mentor to assist the leader contemplate and make key decisions. A mentor should…

Contribution from Subject Matter Experts (SME), Human Capital, Leadership

Pitching to the Chairman

August 1, 2018July 26, 2018| Jack Jacoby|2 Comments

If you’re trying to pitch an idea to the Chairman of the Board, here are a few tips that might help you: Pitch the concept efficiently and briefly: what does the Chairman need to know and understand to support the request? Pitch your message strategically: what are the medium to longer-term impacts and benefits for the organisation? Be professional, objective – and leave your ego at home Demonstrate the value to the business – specifically, how will it contribute to the organisation’s KPOs Briefly explain the operational requirements and impacts and its “do-ability” Understand stakeholder impacts (and what will be done about any negatives) Understand and explain any regulatory and compliance impacts (and what will be done about any negatives) FREE E-BOOK ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TOP MANAGEMENT & BETTER UNDERSTAND COACHING / MENTORING – Click on the image.

Contribution from Subject Matter Experts (SME)

Trump: Genius or idiot

November 22, 2016| Jack Jacoby|Leave a comment

Nearly everyone either loves him or hates him, and they each have their reasons either way. For those who feel that he is an idiot, they almost totally base their opinion on his misogynist, racist, sexist, xenophobic comments. For those that explore a little deeper into his history, they may add crook, commercial bully, serial litigant, etc. For those that feel that he is a genius, then they largely rely on his wealth, his apparent success, and the ultimate fact – he won the Presidency. Let’s try to deconstruct this. Let’s accept for a moment that Trump said and is all the things claimed of him – on both sides of the fence. We know that Trump is a narcissist. That’s not all bad since many of the world’s great achievements have been created by people who ‘believed’ in themselves. In relation to a person’s narcissism, the problem occurs when…

Author: Jack Jacoby

Lowering the risk of early-stage investment

December 8, 2019December 24, 2019| Jack Jacoby|Leave a comment