The Startup CEO’s Voice
The startup CEO’s voice stems from how his or her words, ideas and actions are expressed, including verbally, through images, video, the written word and in-person. This voice is taken in during decision-making sessions, meetings, presentations, discussions, one-on-ones, and informal talks and activities. It’s applied to internal or external discussions.
In the past, the voice of the CEO was considered the defining factor in organizational performance. The CEO was seen as the company’s primary source of direction, energy, action and dynamism. Business strategies, goals and objectives, individual motivation and a range of other executive communications carried the CEO’s voice.
I think the old-school version of the CEO’s voice doesn’t work anymore. Many (perhaps even most) of today’s CEOs probably don’t know who Thomas J. Watson or Lee Iacocca were, or the impact their voices had. They don’t know Peter Drucker’s voice and his management strategies. I also think the evolution that has occurred in the business climate, in business models, and in technologies and culture has rendered passé the highly effective CEO voices we heard in the 1980s and 1990s from people like Steve Jobs, Steve Ballmer, Larry Ellison and others.
These days, the CEO’s voice is not the defining factor in organizational performance. It may be a major factor, but the CEO’s voice is taken into account along with other voices. These include: the voices of peers, the ‘voice’ of Google and the Internet, social media; pop culture, and team(s). Taken together, these represent a type of “voice of the crowd”.
Based on my many interactions with startup CEOs, Board members and others, I have come to three conclusions about today’s startup CEO’s voice:
It has been significantly supplemented by the voice of the crowd,
It has to be used because otherwise it is quickly and consistently superseded, and
Whatever is expressed or communicated has to be genuine, striking and real.
Today’s startup CEOs draw heavily on the voice and views of their peers and web-based interactions. They literally crowd-source their business plans, and listen to that broader voice for strategic and tactical advice. The nature of the CEO’s challenges has changed, as have companies. Lower barriers to entry, more competition, outrageous valuations, constant fund-raising, ARR-pressure and different expectations have significantly influenced the CEO voice.
The voice of the CEO today is not harsh because she or he doesn’t shout. Yet that voice is still a source of significant communications power in an early-stage company. The journey to find your CEO voice is always enlightening, and sometimes frustrating, but it’s ultimately rewarding. In the end, the CEO voice that you develop must be your own.