All CEOs have faced one or more of these challenges at different points in their careers.  Are any of these holding you back?  If so, what are you going to do about it?

• Are you spending too much time on day-to-day activities and find yourself unable to devote the time to the bigger challenges your company faces. 
• As the CEO you have to spend more time working on the business rather than spending all your time working in the business.   You have to deal with the bigger picture -- because if you don’t, there is no one else to do it.  But where do you start?

• Has your sales momentum stalled? Do you think it’s a problem with the sales team? 

• You've probably already made changes to the sales team.  And while it’s easy to blame the sales organization, that is rarely the core of the problem.  Understanding the customer problem your product solves and positioning it in the market is more often the challenge.  You need to look beyond the sales organization to fix this issue.

• Is a key member of your management team causing problems and are you struggling to deal with the situation? Do you feel too dependent on the person to take the necessary action?

• The problems that one person can cause go well beyond their sphere of responsibility.  Failing to address the situation reflects negatively on the CEO and the confidence the rest of the team has in you.  But solving this problem is not has hard as you think.

• Are you struggling with how to take your company to the next level? Are you unsure what your priorities should be?

• The priorities depend on a number of factors including your objectives for the company, your personal goals and what stage the company is in.  There is a straightforward approach to determining the necessary activities and their priorities.

• Do members of your team disappoint you in execution? Are deadlines missed with regularity?

• It's the CEO’s responsibility to make sure the plan is executed.  What is your approach for ensuring execution?  How do you track progress?  When people don’t perform or unexpected events occur, how do you make corrections and get back on track?

• Have you been unable to differentiate yourself from your competitors and as a result, find yourself competing on price?

• Competing on price is not sustainable unless you have a true cost advantage.  If you are going to differentiate, there are many approaches, but you have to differentiate in a way that the customer perceives has value.  Perhaps you should be focused on a sub-segment of the market where you can differentiate what you do. 

• Is the launch of your new product not going as expected? Do you understand why?

• What customer problem are you trying to solve with this new product?  Do your customers think it is a real problem for them – one that they are willing to spend money to solve?  Does your solution offer some differentiated benefit over their existing method of addressing the problem?  Are you doing something better than your established competitors – not technically, but from the perspective of your customers?

• Is your move into international markets not going as well as you hoped? 

• You're probably spending a lot more than you thought and results have still been disappointing.  Do you really understand what it takes to enter a market so far from your primary base of operations?  Have you thought about enlisting the support of a local partner – someone who already has credibility in that market?

• Does your management team spend too much time fighting with each other – causing you to spend your time arbitrating disagreements they should resolve?

• You may have very talented individuals on the senior team, but if they don’t work together, can you really expect the rest of the organization to work in harmony?  What are you doing to encourage them to work cooperatively?  Have you clearly set the right expectations? Are your actions consistent with your words?

• Do you have a good strategy but your team doesn't seem to execute consistently?

• The strategy must be translated into an operating plan where the actions, when fully executed, result in the realization of the strategy.  Do you have a process for linking the operating plan to the strategy; or do you leave it up to the members of the senior team to figure it out on their own?  Are the activities of all the functions well coordinated?

• Are you an entrepreneur wanting to continue leading your company as it grows?

• The role of the CEO changes dramatically as you move beyond the entrepreneurial launch phase.  Do you understand what that means in terms of your role?  Is that what you want to do and are you ready for the changes?

• Do you need to raise the next round of funding but are not sure how to crisply and effectively communicate your story?

• Potential investors are not interested in your business plan until they understand a few basic premises about your business.  Your initial communication to them needs to be brief and very targeted on some key issues.

• Does your company lack the energy, drive and enthusiasm that you know will dramatically improve performance?
• What do you do to encourage high performance? People need a reason to be excited and give their all.  Have you given them that reason?  Do they know what you are trying to achieve?  Do you communicate regularly with them – listening to them at least as much as talking to them?

• Are you doing ok – but know you could be doing better?
• Very few if any CEOs have it all down perfectly.  Having an unbiased, independent set of eyes and ears can help any CEO improve their performance and that of their company.  Using a structured approach, we will help you find opportunities for improvement.