A Top 10 List Especially for CEOs

Everyone loves "Top 10" lists ... from Ugliest Dog to worst Celebrity outfit.  This time of year especially as we wind down the year, there appears to be a top 10 list for everything.  So I thought that I would jump on the bandwagon and post a Top 10 list for CEOs in 2016.

1. Build the right culture, hire the right talent and foster a healthy team dynamic.  The Companies that outperform competitors and grow faster than their market create an environment where individuals are encouraged to achieve their full promise and where teams operate at full force.  A team of talented people communicating effectively and truly working together with all the collaboration and friction that implies, can achieve great things
2. Increase revenue growth through focused consistent sales strategies designed explicitly to increase yield on sales spend and drive predictability and peak effectiveness.  Management of a sales team should be as crisp as a military operation
3. Drive higher revenue yield within the customer base through proprietary product extensions and rigorous inside sales iniatives
4. Leverage partners to speed up new product offerings and open up new distribution channels
5. Ensure high customer retention rates.  First - measure it and be honest about the facts.  Second - work to drive a customer-centric culture starting with how often you visit customers
6. Prioritize new products vs. upgrades to existing ones through a disciplined process of assessing market requirements and competitive offerings.  Don't be afraid to "shift the development curve to the left" with some blue sky thinking
7. Drive operational excellence throughout the organization through a commitment to transparency and adherence to the rigorous measurement of the right leading metrics
8. Improve gross margins through process redesign, automation and rigorous productivity standards
9. Accelerate growth through synergistic acquisitions
10. Review balance sheet for opportunities to unlock capital and/or reduce its cost.