5 Habits Of Successful CEOs That Can Take Off Your Career

Dreaming is one thing. Fulfilling it is another. While many of our ‘CEO’ dreams fail even to take off, some of us blow our wings in the middle of our ‘fantasy to reality’ journey, and the rest get further only to see themselves failing to land safely on the runway on the other side.

Why does this happen?

Let’s forget the investor pressure, technical difficulties, situations, and agnosticism about luck. Instead, let’s see what makes some of the successful modern-day CEOs tick in terms of their habits.

Read. Read a lot.

Many successful CEOs have the habit of binge-watching.

Chill. They are not. Instead, they are bookworms. If you think they only get to read self-help books, you’re wrong. Their collection comprises of anything from biographies to high fiction fantasies.

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” — Jim Rohn.

Some of the successful CEOs even have a separate booklist for people to read and gain wisdom in their lives. As you may have guessed, one of the well-known examples is Bill Gates, who shares his booklist to the public often. Some of his most favorite books include Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, The Ride Of A Lifetime by Bob Iger, A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah, and many more.

Pro tip: While it is significant to read a lot, it is equally important what you read.

Delegate As You Work

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what they want to do, and self-restraint to keep from meddling while they do it.”-Theodore Roosevelt.

Great CEOs don’t micromanage. One reason being they don’t have time to spend on such minute things. Second, that’s not the way they do things. It is why some people like Richard Branson take much care and time while recruiting and then leave the job to the newly appointed candidate’s hands. Because they trust them, and it not only helps in delegating your work but also takes away the burden you would have to carry for long.

Pro tip: Even if delegated, it’s still significant for you to stay connected to the dynamics of the business.

Wake Up To Sunshine

If you’re a night owl with a dream of becoming a CEO, this may hurt you.

Sorry to break the egg. Most successful CEOs are early birds. Be it from Tim Cook to Indra Nooyi rise before or at the crack of dawn. And most of their reflection on this habit is quite the same — Waking up before the dawn gives you quite a time to reflect, write, read, or workout.

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” — Benjamin Franklin.

Pro tip: While waking up early truly has some proven scientific advantage, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, disapproves of it. His sleeping schedule is 1:00 AM — 06:00 AM. So go with what works best for you.

Stick With A Routine

“Spontaneity is flexibility within a routine.” — Marty Rubin.

If you have a vague idea that a CEO’s day would be ultimately arbitrary, erase it right away.

Because they have the plans sketched up ready the night before the next long day but, not all are in the script. Some stunts are pulled right up in the heat of the moment. Cause no one knows what is going to blow and from which direction. Especially when you’re the CEO of a big brand.

Mark Zuckerberg follows a strict yet flexible schedule so that he can chase up on other things that need his attention whenever in need.

Pro tip: Prioritize what’s important and urgent even if it doesn’t sync well into your schedule.

Make Fewer Decisions

You might wonder: isn’t it otherwise? Make many decisions?

Yes, it isn’t. Great CEOs make fewer strategic decisions that create more value.

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.”― Peter F. Drucker.

Jeff Bezos says he doesn’t make more than three decisions a day. Yet he makes millions of dollars every single day.

Pro tip: Make day-to-day decisions considering the future in mind.

With all that said, there are still more points to cover. If you have any other tips, why not share them in the comment section?

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