The Ultimate To-Do List To Become A CEO
Ready for unlimited power, significant influence, and a massive bank account? Just become a CEO.
At Stanford Business School, we are taught to become the CEOs and leaders who will shape the organizations and the world of tomorrow.
But, to be honest, I first need someone to teach me how to shape my life. How can I juggle classes, assignments, networking calls, workout sessions, coffee chats with friends, and dates? — all while eating healthy, sleeping eight hours a night and looking my best!
Fortunately, Doug Melville, Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Richemont, recently gave us useful life advice to become the CEO of our own lives.
Doug was our guest for Stanford’s Reputation Management class. Trust me, the luxury industry is all about what people think of you, and Doug knows exactly what he is talking about. You won’t be a great CEO if you don’t manage your reputation well.
Here are the 10 steps I learned from Doug to become the CEO of my own life.
1. Google your name
Your reputation is the only thing that precedes you when you walk into a room, and you want to make sure people think highly of you in any room you enter. Click on the first two links that appear when you google your name in incognito mode, as this is what people will do when they are looking for information about you. It is critical that you manage what is written about you on the Internet.
2. Find and live your purpose
Find what matters most to you and what you are excited about. Then, pursue this relentlessly and fearlessly. For Doug, it is giving a voice to all the unheard voices through his career in DEI. For me, it is empowering people to unleash their creative spirit, to express their individualities and to be an elevated version of themselves through a career in the beauty and luxury space.
3. Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses
Instead of trying to be an A everywhere, focus on being an A+ in few specific areas, even if that means being an A- elsewhere. Do your own SWOT analysis to help you choose your A+; these are your superpowers that you should leverage in your life.
4. Prove trust and consistency
Use your superpowers to bring something consistent to the table, something that people can trust you on. It is all about cumulative advantage: once you offer a small win to people, that win will compound over time into an increasingly bigger win. You can also use the confirmation bias effect: people around you will think that because you are a winner today, you will be a winner in the future.
5. Know how to tell your story
Develop a statement of who you are and why you are uniquely qualified, then build a narrative and tell it repeatedly. Being the CEO of your own life is all about brand coherence, so practice your story with your friends and family.
6. Get to know the people you are with every day
To be a respected CEO, you need to know people around you: their name, their job, what’s going on in their lives, etc. This includes your chief of staff / best friend, but also the barista who prepares your iced brown sugar oat milk mocha every morning. Time to grab coffee or lunch with the people you are with every day! You will be amazed by how each individual can add value to your life.
7. Master “dinner party” conversations
You pay for what you don’t know, so do your homework: read books, decrypt the news, set alerts for things you are passionate about, and learn the new trends (hello, blockchain). This will help you drive conversations and people will gravitate towards you — a must for a CEO.
8. Be comfortable with the uncomfortable
Push yourself and try new things; this is the best way to grow.
9. Find a mentor and an advocate
Your mentor will be your North Star in your journey. Your advocate is someone who works in the industry you are passionate about. Make sure to be surrounded by both of them to help you achieve insane levels of greatness.
10. Find a coach
Look for someone in the corner, a family member or a friend, someone who will root for you, no matter what. A CEO is never acting alone.
Congratulations, you are now the CEO of your own life! If you ever need a Chief of Staff or a best friend, just hire me.
