CEO Definition:
“What does being a CEO mean to you?”
The goal of the show is not to say you are right or wrong, but to spark the creativity, the essence, the reason an author decided to write a book or the reason why somebody has a workforce of 5,000 people and the size they want to, it is the essence of the leadership a person provides.
After so many interviews, here are some of the definitions of being a CEO:
- Legacy, servant leadership, making money, making an impact.
- Like a parent, a chess, a lighthouse, or a vessel where you steer the course.
How a person thinks, is based on how they approach certain things and often we go through one of the most transformational things in our life and that is going to show the true leadership that is out there.
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Transcription
The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!
Please Note: Our team is using the AI CEO Hacks: Exemplary AI and Otter.ai to support our podcast transcription. While we know it's improving there may be some inaccuracies, we are updating and improving them. Please contact us if you notice any issues, you can also test out Exemplary AI here
00:17 – Intro
Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEO's without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I am CEO podcast.
00:45 – Gresham Harkless
Hello, Hello, Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. This is episode number 1232. 1232 of the I AM CEO podcast. This is CEO defined. If you've been listening, we've been going through each of the different questions that I typically ask. Been doing a deeper dive. Usually, I spend a few minutes, it's actually been around 60 minutes or so of or less, I should say, of each of the questions that I usually ask. I try to touch on some of the answers that I have, the perspective, but even the method behind the madness, so to speak, of why I selected certain questions and how it kind of eases into everything that we try to do. But with that being said, what does being a CEO mean to you?
That question is a loaded question. And most of the time when people think about it and they try to define it, there's not a stationary definition for it. There's a book definition, of course, because everything in the dictionary has a definition. But I think when you start to delve in a little bit deeper than the semester two that is in the dictionary, you start to realize that maybe there isn't a set definition, or maybe there is. And that's kind of like the spirit of the question is really to have people from different perspectives define it for themselves. And that's a solopreneur, that's the CMO, that's the CTO, that's the CEO, that's the small business owner, that's the entrepreneur, that's the startup founder.
[restrict paid=”true”]
That's all these people get to define like what being a CEO means. And the goal of the show is really not to say you're right or wrong, it's this or it's that. It's really to hopefully spark the conversation around the creativity, the essence, the reason why an author decided to start a book or the reason why somebody has a workforce of 5000 people and decides that they want to maybe take the mantle, not necessarily start the business, but they take it on the role of being a CEO. And it's not to say you're better, you're worse, you're not this or you are this. But it really speaks, I think, to, the essence of the leadership that a person provides. You can definitely be a CEO, I think, of one.
But I think what we've seen is where you have, know, businesses such as Instagram that were purchased for, you know, millions of dollars. I can't remember the exact figure. With a team of like five or less than ten, you're starting to see that workforces are decreasing. They're not as big as they used to be. Part of the thing that really sparked me wanting to ask this question is because I would always get like, it's great to have CEO's on the show. It's really great that you're featuring CEO's. And then maybe they'll say, well, that person doesn't seem like a CEO. That person definitely is. I would love to hear from that person as a CEO, but maybe this person isn't so much of a CEO.
So I wanted to basically take all of that and flip it over and shake it up and throw it around and just have people kind of redefine it for themselves. And the goal of that question, the spirit of the show is really to define what it means to be a CEO. Like I said, I think it's more of a mentality. It's a focus, it's a mindset. And when you start to lean into that, you start to realize that even if you have a team of 1099s that are all around the country, you can have that CEO mentality that can lead you to really great success. When you look at businesses that are sometimes multi-million dollar businesses, 10, 20, 30 years ago, you need a huge workforce to do that. Now you don't necessarily need to do that because of technology.
And of course, depending on your business, does that make that person more of an entrepreneur more of a CEO, or less than the other person? And I think that's really the exciting thing about the question is you really get to have those conversations. You really get to talk about those really deep things about legacy, about leadership, about servant leadership, about making money, about making an impact. It manifests itself in so many different ways. And the exciting thing about having those conversations, of course, here in the metaphors of hearing, you know, how being a CEO is a lot of times like being a parent or being a CEO is a lot of times like, like, you know, different aspects of life that we sometimes, you know, gloss over, we overlook.
Or sometimes it's like, you know, a game of chess where you start to see that certain pieces do certain things and you don't necessarily understand or can do everything that somebody else could do, but you have an overall view of the strategy, the pieces on the board, so to speak. You also are aware of what your opponent is, are the strengths and weaknesses of everything that you have on the chessboard. Or potentially it's like going up to the overall lighthouse and you're able to see from a strategy standpoint not just what's going on today, but what's happening ten years from now, five years from now, how you need to pivot, how you need to change all those things that you need to do where you're sailing a ship.
Or maybe being a CEO is just about continuing on each day. So I say all these things because I've heard all these things. Doing 1200-plus episodes has allowed me the opportunity to hear different people and different perspectives. I've even heard that I'm not a CEO. I've heard, you know, I'm not literally the CEO. I'm the CMO. So I think my CEO does x, Y, and Z. I'm not even a business owner. I just want to talk about what I think a CEO is from my perspective. And that's the spirit of the question. It's not necessary to look at the definition of what it means to be a CEO. Look at the word CEO and say, the way that I look at it is the only way. The goal of the question is really to look above it, look below it, look behind it, look underneath it, change its color, change the organization, and just change things so that you have a unique and different perspective.
Because I think that is going to allow us to continue to kind of have those diverse thoughts. Those diverse thoughts are going to lead to solutions. Those solutions are going to help us to get to the next step and the separate of that, and separate from that. So the spirit of that question is really just to completely hopefully rattle, destroy, and rebuild maybe what it means to be a CEO, what it means to be an entrepreneur, what it means to be a business owner, a founder. All these terms that we use, Chief Cook and bottle washer, chief energy officer, chief empathy officer, so many things that people have used to define what it means to be a CEO. And I think as much as it might be frustrating to some, I think one of the most exciting things about the show is because you get to see from that person's perspective, like how they define that leadership, how they define that role.
Not so much the title, but the leadership that they provide within their organization. Whether they are at the top of the pyramid, or they're at the bottom of the pyramid, or they're somewhere not even inside the pyramid, is really one of the most exciting things because there's definitely no right or wrong answer, and there's nothing but value and perspective that you get from a person. But you also get to learn a little bit more about who they are, what they value, and how they see the leadership that they have. So this is Gretch signing out. I am CEO podcast. It means very many things to me. A lot of many things, if I even said that correctly. But at the end of the day, it's all about something that's internal.
I think that manifests itself in many different ways. So you really sometimes look at how a person thinks based on how they approach certain things. And often we've gone through one of the most transformational parts and we're still going through it. Of our lives, definitely of my life. And I think that is going to show the true leadership that is out there. So this is a great signing out, episode number 1232. Be sure to check out the Imceo podcast at Imceo Co. Check us out at Blue Sixteenmedia Co.
All the different episodes are here. All the different. Go to the CEO chat episode as well too, where we do a compilation of each of the different definitions. So if you just want to kind of do a quick run-through of like what are some maybe 1015 or so different perspectives, we have a little compilation of some of the first episodes and what people said from that standpoint. So thought that was pretty exciting. I think this is it. This is exciting too. Love all the answers and everybody have a great rest of the day. Great start to 2022.
08:46 – Outro
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.
Transcription
The full transcription is only available to CBNation Library Members. Sign up today!
Please Note: Our team is using the AI CEO Hacks: Exemplary AI and Otter.ai to support our podcast transcription. While we know it's improving there may be some inaccuracies, we are updating and improving them. Please contact us if you notice any issues, you can also test out Exemplary AI here
00:17 - Intro
Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEO's without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you come to the right place. Gresham Harkness values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I am CEO podcast.
00:45 - Gresham Harkless
Hello, Hello, Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. This is episode number 1232. 1232 of the I AM CEO podcast. This is CEO defined. If you've been listening, we've been going through each of the different questions that I typically ask. Been doing a deeper dive. Usually, I spend a few minutes, it's actually been around 60 minutes or so of or less, I should say, of each of the questions that I usually ask. I try to touch on some of the answers that I have, the perspective, but even the method behind the madness, so to speak, of why I selected certain questions and how it kind of eases into everything that we try to do. But with that being said, what does being a CEO mean to you?
That question is a loaded question. And most of the time when people think about it and they try to define it, there's not a stationary definition for it. There's a book definition, of course, because everything in the dictionary has a definition. But I think when you start to delve in a little bit deeper than the semester two that is in the dictionary, you start to realize that maybe there isn't a set definition, or maybe there is. And that's kind of like the spirit of the question is really to have people from different perspectives define it for themselves. And that's a solopreneur, that's the CMO, that's the CTO, that's the CEO, that's the small business owner, that's the entrepreneur, that's the startup founder.
That's all these people get to define like what being a CEO means. And the goal of the show is really not to say you're right or wrong, it's this or it's that. It's really to hopefully spark the conversation around the creativity, the essence, the reason why an author decided to start a book or the reason why somebody has a workforce of 5000 people and decides that they want to maybe take the mantle, not necessarily start the business, but they take it on the role of being a CEO. And it's not to say you're better, you're worse, you're not this or you are this. But it really speaks, I think, to, the essence of the leadership that a person provides. You can definitely be a CEO, I think, of one.
But I think what we've seen is where you have, know, businesses such as Instagram that were purchased for, you know, millions of dollars. I can't remember the exact figure. With a team of like five or less than ten, you're starting to see that workforces are decreasing. They're not as big as they used to be. Part of the thing that really sparked me wanting to ask this question is because I would always get like, it's great to have CEO's on the show. It's really great that you're featuring CEO's. And then maybe they'll say, well, that person doesn't seem like a CEO. That person definitely is. I would love to hear from that person as a CEO, but maybe this person isn't so much of a CEO.
So I wanted to basically take all of that and flip it over and shake it up and throw it around and just have people kind of redefine it for themselves. And the goal of that question, the spirit of the show is really to define what it means to be a CEO. Like I said, I think it's more of a mentality. It's a focus, it's a mindset. And when you start to lean into that, you start to realize that even if you have a team of 1099s that are all around the country, you can have that CEO mentality that can lead you to really great success. When you look at businesses that are sometimes multi-million dollar businesses, 10, 20, 30 years ago, you need a huge workforce to do that. Now you don't necessarily need to do that because of technology.
And of course, depending on your business, does that make that person more of an entrepreneur more of a CEO, or less than the other person? And I think that's really the exciting thing about the question is you really get to have those conversations. You really get to talk about those really deep things about legacy, about leadership, about servant leadership, about making money, about making an impact. It manifests itself in so many different ways. And the exciting thing about having those conversations, of course, here in the metaphors of hearing, you know, how being a CEO is a lot of times like being a parent or being a CEO is a lot of times like, like, you know, different aspects of life that we sometimes, you know, gloss over, we overlook.
Or sometimes it's like, you know, a game of chess where you start to see that certain pieces do certain things and you don't necessarily understand or can do everything that somebody else could do, but you have an overall view of the strategy, the pieces on the board, so to speak. You also are aware of what your opponent is, are the strengths and weaknesses of everything that you have on the chessboard. Or potentially it's like going up to the overall lighthouse and you're able to see from a strategy standpoint not just what's going on today, but what's happening ten years from now, five years from now, how you need to pivot, how you need to change all those things that you need to do where you're sailing a ship.
Or maybe being a CEO is just about continuing on each day. So I say all these things because I've heard all these things. Doing 1200-plus episodes has allowed me the opportunity to hear different people and different perspectives. I've even heard that I'm not a CEO. I've heard, you know, I'm not literally the CEO. I'm the CMO. So I think my CEO does x, Y, and Z. I'm not even a business owner. I just want to talk about what I think a CEO is from my perspective. And that's the spirit of the question. It's not necessary to look at the definition of what it means to be a CEO. Look at the word CEO and say, the way that I look at it is the only way. The goal of the question is really to look above it, look below it, look behind it, look underneath it, change its color, change the organization, and just change things so that you have a unique and different perspective.
Because I think that is going to allow us to continue to kind of have those diverse thoughts. Those diverse thoughts are going to lead to solutions. Those solutions are going to help us to get to the next step and the separate of that, and separate from that. So the spirit of that question is really just to completely hopefully rattle, destroy, and rebuild maybe what it means to be a CEO, what it means to be an entrepreneur, what it means to be a business owner, a founder. All these terms that we use, Chief Cook and bottle washer, chief energy officer, chief empathy officer, so many things that people have used to define what it means to be a CEO. And I think as much as it might be frustrating to some, I think one of the most exciting things about the show is because you get to see from that person's perspective, like how they define that leadership, how they define that role.
Not so much the title, but the leadership that they provide within their organization. Whether they are at the top of the pyramid, or they're at the bottom of the pyramid, or they're somewhere not even inside the pyramid, is really one of the most exciting things because there's definitely no right or wrong answer, and there's nothing but value and perspective that you get from a person. But you also get to learn a little bit more about who they are, what they value, and how they see the leadership that they have. So this is Gretch signing out. I am CEO podcast. It means very many things to me. A lot of many things, if I even said that correctly. But at the end of the day, it's all about something that's internal.
I think that manifests itself in many different ways. So you really sometimes look at how a person thinks based on how they approach certain things. And often we've gone through one of the most transformational parts and we're still going through it. Of our lives, definitely of my life. And I think that is going to show the true leadership that is out there. So this is a great signing out, episode number 1232. Be sure to check out the Imceo podcast at Imceo Co. Check us out at Blue Sixteenmedia Co.
All the different episodes are here. All the different. Go to the CEO chat episode as well too, where we do a compilation of each of the different definitions. So if you just want to kind of do a quick run-through of like what are some maybe 1015 or so different perspectives, we have a little compilation of some of the first episodes and what people said from that standpoint. So thought that was pretty exciting. I think this is it. This is exciting too. Love all the answers and everybody have a great rest of the day. Great start to 2022.
08:46 - Outro
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.
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