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Back to the FruithomeCongratulations, you just won election. A presidency entails a lot of things. Some may make you euphoric; some may make you positively sick to your stomach. It takes a special kind of person to lead a company and an even more special type of person to lead a company to profitability.
However, I think it's important to realize that profitability is a later goal of your leadership. You must also lead a company fairly and honestly, respecting the goals of workers, shareholders, officers, and yourself. I have often said not everyone can be an "A" student, but everyone can be a respectful, hard-working, honest student. The same applies to companies. 9/10 new companies go out of business! However sad that may sound, the companies that enter the newspapers and live in share are those such as Enron or Imclone that cheat and lie. It's better to be an honest failure than a dishonest success.
It is strongly suggested that presidents read ALL the introductory materials given to other officers and to ordinary workers. This will give him an idea as to what the others should do. The drawing below shows the basic structure of the K-Business company
Below is a list of all of the officer's records.
Officer Type Name Description CFO spr book_val-a worksheet to determine the current value per share CFO spr chek_bok-the CFO's checkbook to track checks written and issued CFO spr fin_rec-the CFO's central record for all accounts CFO spr profits-a final record for the CFO to determine profits/loss per share CIO wp tech_log-a log to register research as to technical projects and their cost CIO spr tech_cos-a worksheet to determine costs of a technical project per unit CIO wp train_r-a log of the CIO's efforts to help officers on their records CS wp meeting-a form for preparing Board meetings and taking notes from them CS spr stock_rd-a record for recording initial and future stock ownership CS wp prospX-a blank prospectus the CS can alter; this goes with each share CS wp stockX-a blank share which the CS can alter and will issue as shares VPHR wp ab_rec-a log of meeting by meeting absences VPHR spr atte_mas-master record of company attendance for the year VPHR spr cont_inf-contact information for employees; can replace with a WP file VPHR spr payroll-a worksheet for figuring hours worked and salaries to give to CFO VPoM spr prod_mas-the production master record showing units made by employees VPoM spr lab_cs-a worksheet for figuring labor cost/unit; made with VPoHR's help [Pur]* spr fix_cos-a worksheet for figuring fixed cost per unit for a capital purchase [Pur]* wp pur_log-a log for the PA to record his research into costs of materials [Pur]* spr var_cs-a worksheet for the PA to figure variable, non-labor costs [Saf]* wp saf_log-a log of safety incidents [if any] and steps to prevent them [Saf]* spr saf_rec-a record of how the SD trains employees on processes/machines VPoS spr sal_log-a worksheet totaling sales per night and log; totals can go to CFO VPoS spr sal_mas-the master record of sales per salesman for the year [Mr]** spr mar_cos-a worksheet to figure the cost of marketing per unit [Mr]** wp mrk_log-a log to record any marketing research undertaken * In the absence of safety and purchasing, the VPoM will do either or both. ** In the absence of Marketing, the VPoS will do these records.
Every economic activity requires factors of production. These include land (l), labor (l), capital (k), and entrepreneurship (e).
The Vice-President of Manufacturing (or Purchasing Manger) will generally take care of most of the "land" and "labor." The closest a K-Business company will come to "land" purchases consists in paying rent for the school facility [if charged]. Meanwhile, the Vice-President of Manufacturing and Vice-President of Human Resources will take care of labor.
Someone needs to add the additional element: entrepreneurship. This usually falls to the President.
Various different leadership models and leadership styles exist. In fact, authors wrote entire books on the subject. Here, one might make some distinctions. First, a leader's source of power can stem from three different sources:
(1) Vision (2) Position (3) Tradition
The visionary leader uses his sparkling personality to inspire others to follow him. For this, we can think of school individuals who lead protests against teachers, organize projects, etc. In contrast, a traditional leader's authority stems from a traditional, usually inherited, position. One can, sure enough, think of our local Al-Sabah family or a son taking over the family business as traditional leadership. A positionary leader's authority stems from his position, whether elected or appointed. Much power in America stems from positionary sources, such as the powers of George Bush. In some cases, sure enough, a leader's authority may derive from some mixture of these three sources. For example, the Prime Minister's holds positionary power, but it always falls to Al-Sabah family members; the family, further, selects among its own members one who can prove himself able to perform the role. Thus, the Prime Minister exhibits some degree of authority from all three sources.
Obviously, in K-Business the president will get much of his power from his position. Others owe him their loyalty due to their positions. While a president may get additional authority from other sources, his authority primarily comes from his election, and nothing says that a company cannot have more than one election.
One can also distinguish between entrepreneurs and managers. A manager simply runs an existing corporation; in contrast, an entrepreneur exhibits entreprenuership. The entrepreneurial leader style typically gets a lot of authority from his visionary leadership and the manager from positional leadership. Sure enough, the most famous people in business are usually entrepreneurs, but this does not mean companies don't need good managers. The pattern tends to follow that a entrepreneur starts and builds a young company, and eventually either the Company replaces him or supplements him with a manager as it settles into a more regular, mature form. Few CEOs excel both at managing and at entreprenuership. A K-Business company president will have to exhibit some entrepreneurship and some management skills.
The exact "right" combination may well result from the make-up of the company itself. An entrepreneur with a very strong supporting cast of officers may successfully ignore many of the "day-to-day" business details and worry more about what George Bush called "the vision thing" and let his other officers "sweat the details." In contrast, a president with a cast of officers weak on record-keeping but strong on inspiration, such as a company with a dynamic VPoS, may need to concentrate most of his attention on the gritty details of management. In the worst case, a Company with a weak cast of officers short of inspiration may require an extraordinary president just to survive the year.
While the CFO and other individuals deal with the actual "numbers" of the business, the president needs to know enough about them to decide if the firm should make a profit and if it did.
The former decision concerns the BEP. The BEP means the point at which the firm did not make a profit and did not make a loss. That means the profit on sales, often called "mark-up," the difference between the cost of making an item and the selling price. Thus
BEP = FC / Price - AVC Fixed Costs may equal all of the above: (1) Technical cost (spent on technical capital) from the CIO (2) Officer salaries (5 * the amount for monthly payroll) from the VPoHR (3) Fixed cost for capital from the Purchasing Agent or VPoM (4) Marketing costs for marketing projects (if any) from the Marketing Manager (5) Cost of expenses to the advisors (KD100)* (6) Cost of fee to the school (rent) (KD30) }[if charged] *note that sponsors can now accept up to half of this in shares. This doesn't change the equation though.
Variable cost may equal all of the following: (1) Average labor cost (approximated by using the wage rate and approximate production per person) from the VPoHR (2) Average variable non-labor cost, i.e., the materials cost from the of Purchasing Agent or VPoMPrice:
(1) Price of sales given by the VPoSOn the other hand, at the end of the year, the firm needs to liquidate. The formula still takes roughly the same form. All of these numbers, in this case, will come from actual figures.
Profit = (Price * units) - [AFC + (Price * AVC)]
At the end of the year and at mid-year, the CEO needs to assemble a report to send to the Stockholders. The FINAL report should accompany the actual money given for liquidation of the stocks. The midyear can go via email. This report should run no longer than two pages and summarize the highlights (or lowlights) of the Company's year or half-year. Both reports must go to the sponsor who will, in turn, give them to Dr. Dan to post on the K-Business website. The CIO can also post them at the company's website.
At the end of the year, also, ALL officers will turn in their final reports and documents to the president. This should take form of at least one disc given to the president. Probably the CEO should wait until AFTER payment of liquidation to receive the CFO's books. The president will then cut a CD (or multiple floppies) with a copy of these records. He will submit both paper and disc copies to the sponsor.
While the president should certainly take some part in the closing of these records, the major task for him entails making SURE that they actually finish these tasks. This is one reason why the K-Business liquidation will take place prior to finals and to Pearl-MUN.
As all officers MUST keep a copy of their records on the company computer, the CEO mainly needs to have them write a summarizing paragraph.
The following are the MAJOR sections of this final report.
A. President's introductory remarks B. VPoM: production figures and a summary of manufacturing. 1. Safety Director's summary (if employed) 2. Purchasing Manager's summary (if used) C. VPoS: sales figures and commissions paid out for the year 1. Marketing Manager's summary (if used) D. VPoHR: figures for employee attendance and a summary of personnel activity including payroll. E. Corporate Secretary: a summary of stockholder communication through the year. F. CIO: Summary if used G. CFO: Summary of final position of the company. Note that to do this, the CFO needs to do the following: (1) Pay any final bills (2) Pay any last payroll or commission (3) Pay any bonuses (4) Receive all final sales income (5) Receive any income from resale of materials or capital (6) Figure pre-charitable profits, i.e. total BEYOND that of (total shares sold * 10). (7) Figure 5% of any profits for payment to charity. [Thus no profits means nothing to charity]. (8) Divide the remaining liquidation balance by the number of stockholders. (9) Return payments to stockholders. (10) Divide any remaining funds between the other stockholders (if stockholders cannot be located) H. CEO's closing remarksOn a regular evening night, the CEO needs to perform several distinct tasks.
(1) Interacting with the Company as a Whole
After 1500, it will typically fall to the CEO and VPoM to get the meeting going. Technically, the VPoM needs to take charge of his work force and get production underway as quickly as possibly as the meeting only runs two hours. More practically, the CEO will typically help get the production going. While K-Business does not give grades, the CEO needs to set a tone in which company members use their time as though they're getting paid for it because they are getting paid for it.
The entire question of "tone" of these production meetings usually falls to the CEO. If the president too quickly leaves the production or does not take it seriously, neither will the rest of the company. Thus, the CEO needs to engage the whole group quickly in the production process. Similarly, as soon as possible, other events permitting, the CEO needs to start work like any other worker. This will reinforce the value of the production process.
At the end of the meeting, conversely, the CEO needs to help the VPoM getting all workers to finish their production and to clean up. If worst comes to worst, the CEO himself should clean-up if no other way presents itself to set the right example.
Sometimes CEOs wish to conduct "mini-board meetings" at the end of a regular meeting. A CEO, then, needs to get members to clean up early.
(2) Interacting with Other Officers
Once the company gets down to production, the CEO can get down to what probably concerns him more strategically: the health of the whole company. The president needs to check with EACH officer in turn to get a run-down on the Company's current status. It's usually wise for these meetings to take place outside of public hearing of the company as a whole because these meetings (1) may distract other workers and (2) may contain information better handled by the officers. Hence, the president will typically call the officers out in the hallway or some secluded spot one by one.
While the president may meet these officers in any order, the following probably works best in terms of the agendas of the other officers:
(1) VPoHR after roll call (2) VPoM [with Safety, Purchasing Manager if needed] after manufacturing begins (3) VPoS [with Marketing Manager] after recording nightly sales figures (4) CIO after the CIO finishes any computer work (5) CFO after he finishes transactions for the day (6) The CS as time permits
Note that as each officer finishes his task above, he/she will go to the company computer. This may make a reasonable meeting point, but NOT FOR MORE THAN THE CEO and 1 officer.
These meetings may create their own agendas. A meeting with VPoS, for example, if sales falter, can easily stretch to 45 minutes.
Many CEOs find this straight-forward pattern of weekly meetings insufficient for keeping sufficient communication and interaction with their officers. As a result, they meet with the officers outside of the regular K-Business meeting time. Depending on the CEO, these meetings may not include all of the officers. They may not even take place at school.
The key point is that a good CEO will determine the need for such meetings.
A wise CEO will maintain good relations with his key officers. The old adage here probably holds some truth: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The more strongly the CEO makes these officers feel that HIS success means THEIR success, the stronger their dedication to helping him.
As the K-Business has evolved to include more breaks, CEOs may want to use some of those meetings. However, sponsors must approve any additional general meetings and the cancellation of regular meetings. Generally, presidents should try to get the utmost value from regular meetings so as to avoid creating extra meetings.
The CEO runs the monthly board meeting, but the Board runs the meeting in the sense that the Board can overturn the president's decisions. In a sense, the Board meetings offer an opportunity for the CEO to explain and justify his own leadership since the previous Board meetings. Thus, a good CEO will do the following:
(1) Set and prepare an agenda before the Board Meeting
The agenda gives an impression of order as well as showing what the company will do. Good CEOs always distribute agendas. The CEO needs to set that agenda very carefully in conjunction with the Corporate Secretary. The Corporate Secretary's records carry some suggested topics for discussion. The CEO should prepare and distribute this agenda at the beginning of the meeting.
The CEO needs to think this through carefully. Ideally the agenda should take close to the entire 2 hours, but it should have some fun moments. Many companies will use an hour for business, take a break, and then reconvene to do something educational or fun, such as watching a business related film or playing a game. A happy company rests in the president's best interest because otherwise various arguments may arise to fill those two hours. While it may seem very tempting to dismiss a Board Meeting early, the CEO must remember that this holds two possible negative consequences (a) it conveys an impression of disorder (b) it gives a message that company time does not matter. The CEO must think that good morale for the company IS an investment in the company as the VPoHR will probably readily agree.
Starting in 2005-2006, a company MUST hold two open Board meetings (out of 5) which invite ALL stockholders. The CEO should make provisions for extra individuals, whether parents, students, or teachers to feel welcome. He needs also to have amply prepared to show the company's BEST side at those meetings. These meetings may occur at night, so long as the sponsor approves the time chosen.
(2) Running the Meeting
The CEO should run the meeting according to Robert's Rules of order. These he can download from any website. The CEO needs to run this meeting, just as the VPoS runs the regular meeting. To summarize Roberts:
(1) Each action, called a "motion," needs to be moved and seconded. Without a "second," a motion dies.
(2) Members who wish to speak are recognized and "given the floor." Anyone who speaks out of turn is "out of order." If the president presents an agenda, he can consign any questions not dealing with this agenda to an appropriate time, but the president MUST give that time.
(3) A motion to adjourn is always in order, but a president may table the motion.
The president runs this meeting as chairman, but he needs to remember that the meeting exists for the purpose of the stockholders. These include his company members. Thus, the CEO needs to maintain his neutrality and fairness. If the Company wishes and the votes go him, the CEO must respect the Board's decision.
(4) In the absence of the CEO, one of the VPs, either Sales, Manufacturing, CFO, or Human Resources, will run the meeting. The CEO should designate this person before the meeting. It is strongly suggested that the CEO miss no Board meetings.
(3) Rebellion and Overthrow of the CEO
The Company belongs to the stockholders, represented by the Board, not the president. As indicated above, the one and only appropriate place for rebellion occurs at the Board meeting. At a Board meeting, the Board can question a CEOs decision. It can also vote to remove or replace him. In the event of such a vote, the president himself will vote his proxy shares. Should the CEO lose such a vote, he remains a stockholder and member of the Board. Note (see below) that sponsors and the program director (Dr. Dan) maintain active shares which they can vote. In addition, stockholders present at the open board meetings can vote their shares.
Note that these votes to remove the president often take place in the ABSENCE of the CEO. Therefore, the CEO should make every effort not to miss a Board meeting.
A good CEO, of course, will avoid such challenges in every way possible. A small part of this, of course, involves simply setting the agenda correctly, leaving little time for such motions and a well-ordered meeting. More fundamentally, the CEO needs to give good guidance to the company. The only reason stockholders, in general, wish to change CEOs stems from their discomfort and anger. While certain personalities might plan and scheme for reasons having nothing to do with business, these plans never come to fruition if the CEO does well. Everyone likes a winner! To put this into simplest terms, one may summarize:
"A good president runs his Board; a Board runs a poor president."
Starting in 2005-2006, a more active market, Manaque al-Bayan, will allow sale of shares. While the rise and fall of shares may not accurately reflect a company's prospects, generally the market follow success, and unhappy shareholders have good reasons for unhappiness.
Technically, the Corporate Secretary will maintain primary responsibility for Stockholder communication. If the company elects a CIO, he/she may take some of the burden away from the Corporate Secretary. In practical fact, the CEO should make sure that this occurs as the Corporate Secretary operates under his direct supervision along with the CIO and should always take a look at what goes out to stockholders before the CS sends it.
In this communication, whether in monthly postings to the company website or in monthly emails, the president needs to make his mark. This communication does NOT need to win any literary awards; the completion of the task is far more important. A monthly email to the Stockholders gives them the impression of a well-run company. One email sent in five months simply doesn't give the same impression. Still, the company MUST send the midterm or final resport.
Within the email or web update, the CEO should reserve a section called something like "president's message." This section, of several paragraphs, should give an overview of the overall picture of the company. The other officers will give the facts; the CEO needs to give the vision of the company, its goal. While CEOs should never lie, they should try to give a positive picture. The CEO needs to check grammar and spelling on his message so it holds zero errors.
Like any business, a K-Business will need to deal with lax workers, poor salesman, etc.. Unlike a real business, a K-Business company needs to deal with the real problems of the immaturity of student workers who may want to write on desks, act silly, etc.. Most of these problems occur during regular manufacturing meetings though occasionally a poorly planned Board meeting may go awry.
The CEO maintains all of the usual corporate problems for dealing with these kinds of small disruptions, both positive and negative. For example, the Company can give bonuses to strong workers. It can also dock pay. The VPoHR's instructions contains some more hints.
On occasion, worker problems simply deal from immaturity. While hopefully a CEO can deal with these problems, he may have to call on company advisors for assistance. A CEO should not hesitate, when other means fail, to say, "Sorry Abdullah, I talked to you, I encouraged you, we docked your pay for today, but you're not getting the message. Go see Dr. Dan."
The worker will then go home for the day.
A good CEO, of course, will have very few problems of this type.
The CEO does NOT hold the power to immediately fire people. As indicated above, the Board actually holds the power to fire him. On the other hand, the CEO can recommend termination of an employee to the company advisor (Ms. Saema, Dr. Dan, etc.). If they approve, the employee is fired but, of course, retains his stock and remains a stockholder.
Prior to recommending termination, the CEO needs to assemble a "file," a case, for firing the employee. Usually, the CEO can delegate most of this work to the CS and the VPoHR. For example, the CS will assemble the file, and it may contain the attendance records (8 absences), two instances of disrupting the production process, sales records (0 sales), etc.
A good CEO will exercise this termination power with extreme care. If the CEO fires an employee, this may become a topic of discussion at the next monthly Board meeting. The CEO may have to defend this decision to the Board.
For this reason, it's recommended that CEOs get in the habit of (1) documenting and (2) delegating authority. As indicated above, the CS should assemble the materials, but he should rely on other officers for their input. If they do not maintain good records, the benefit of the doubt should go to the employee. For instance, the VPoHR needs to speak to an oft-absence employee and document his conversations and produce the records. The VPoS cannot just say "X never sells anything." He needs to show this. At some point, the CEO should speak to the employee with the CS present to taking notes and witnessing.
In practical fact, calls to "fire" and employee will either (a) come from personal reasons or (b) initiate from other officers. The CEO can safely ignore the former as the complaining employees, whether officers or not, will have no evidence to justify termination. In the latter instance, the CEO needs to turn the process back on his officers: either they do the documentation, or they learn to live with the worker. In the corporate world this is often referred to as "dotting the 'i's and crossing the 't's." In the case of a poor officer, the CEO himself will need to assemble the documentation himself. In many cases, the member has effectively quit, so the CEO can simply not fire him by giving him the option of quitting.
Keep in mind that, should the process go awry, the CEO needs to protect his reputation for fairness.
All companies will need to follow the guidelines posted below. The actual execution of those guidelines will follow on a number of officers, of course, but the CEO will take the primary part.
These guidelines come from a number of sources. They mainly stem from generally accepted business practices. In many countries, violating some of these principles, such as not reporting income or not paying employees in a timely manner, actually breaks the law. While some of the other practices, such as not reporting to stockholders are not "illegal," they breaks an implied contract which would result in a lawsuit.
The remainder of the practices aim just to "tighten up" running of companies by setting definited guidelines for matters such as finishing the sale of stock, paying payrolls, etc..
It falls upon you to do two important tasks. First, you must "sell" these guidelines to your company. If you can explain the importance of them, your company will follow them, making your job of running a company that much simpler. Second, you must enforce them. In some cases, whereas CEO had a relatively tough time enforcing some similar guidelines, the sponsor now has greater responsibility and authority.
Understand that if a company does not meet these guidelines that company WILL BE LIQUIDATED. Therefore, it's strongly suggested that you explain these guidelines in the first or second meeting and make sure everyone understands their responsibities.
The purpose of creating these relegations is to insure that K-Business companies operate in a manner this is efficient, open, and fair. Fairness in this context means treating all participants in the K-Business experience, i.e., workers, officers, stockholders, and sponsors in a way that respects their rights and their stakes in the company. The deadlines and expectations below conform to the accounting, business, and moral standards of most American businesses tailored to the very short corporate life of a K-Business company.
To finish the year as a K-Business Company, a company must meet all of the following deadlines:
By October 2nd, A K-Business Company must
(1) Issue at least 30 shares of IPO stock with a prospectus for each shareholder such that. (a) each prospectus includes the CS and CEO's email address; (b) each company member owns at least one share of stock; (c) at least 1/3 of the IPO shares sell to non-company members. (2) Assemble and turn submit to the sponsor on disk: (a) a list of all IPO stockholders including email addresses; (b) a list of all members including email addresses along with their parent permission slips. (3) Provide its sponsor the equivalent of KD50 either through either (a) cash; (b) the equivalent of KD50 in shares of company stock according to IPO value. (4) Open a bank account with the Business Office. (5) Elect and submit to the sponsor a list of company officers. (6) Vote upon a monthly salary scheme and get sponsor's approval.By December 3rd, A K-Business Company must
(1) Have the company sponsor approve the company's books. (2) Hold at least ONE open stockholders' meeting at which any stockholder can attend and nofity all current stockholdersof this meeting. (3) Pay the November-December payroll. (4) Write and submit a mid-term report including, at least, reports from the CFO, CEO, VpoM, VpoS, and VpoS; the current book value of the stock; and (a) mail a copy of this report to all stockholders; (b) submit a copy to the sponsor for posting at the K-Business website.Should a company fail to meet any of the deadlines above, this company will be put "in receivership" whether in October, December, or May with the company sponsor acting as executor of its subsequent bankruptcy. Its bankruptcy liquidation will be conducted in concordance with common bankruptcy procedures whereby:
(1) All assets are liquidated and the money distributed to pay off outstanding debts first, including those owed to employees (payroll debts) and sponsors. (a) If a company cannot meet all of its debts, each debtholder will be paid a percentage of what is owed based on the company's ability to pay and the debt's size. (2) Any remaining money will divided among stockholders. If there is any dispute as to whether a Company is in "receivership," the program director will make the final decision.
The program director reserves the write to waive or alter the deadlines outlined above so long as this does not result in more strict requirements.I, acting as an executive company officer, agree to meet the conditions and deadlines outlined above. I futher understand the receivership procedures that will follow should my company fail to meet these deadlines and obligations.
In the event that I no longer hold the position of company officer, I and my company understand that the same obligations fall upon my sucessor as the obligation is assumed by the company and that this agreement is between the company, its sponsors, and the program director with myself only acting as its agent.
Company name: _________________ Date: __________________________
CEO's signature: ____________________
CFO's signature: _________________ VPoHR signature: ____________________
VPoS's signature: _________________ VPoM signature: _____________________
CS's signature: ___________________
Sponsor's signature: ________________ Program Director's signature: __________
The CS works directly under the supervision of the president. Once the CS finishes the stock issuance, he and CEO need to work together often, regularly, and directly. The CEO, for example, needs to check and add to the communication the CS sends to shareholders.
On another level, the CEO needs to use the CS as a traditional secretary, in the widest sense. For example, if the CEO needs to terminate an employee, he should immediately call out the CS to take notes and observe. In a particularly tough meeting with a VP, it might pay to have the CS present. The presence of the CS taking good notes frees the CEO to really listen to what the other person says.
In the case of a CIO, the CEO can effectively use more of the CS's time, on the one hand, and use the CIO for some of the traditional CS functions. For example, the CIO may issue web updates in lieu of monthly stockholder reports. The CIO may also end up posting the final corporate information. In either case, the CEO needs to keep a close eye and contribute. Also, the CIO takes charge of the company computer.
The CIO may help the CEO in another way. All of the officers need to keep records. In the K-Business model, while these records to some extent overlap, they do not correct each other. Thus, the CFO uses information from the VPoS, but he does not check the VPoS's work. The CIO can not only help these officers but also cut down on the number of errors by regularly checking over their work.
In the absence of a CIO, the duty of checking these records will fall to the CEO.
One can think of the four VPs as the heart of the company's functioning. Depending on the competence of these officers, the CEO will have an easy or tough time running the company. If a vote occurs to terminate the president, the candidates almost always come from one of these four officers except if an extremely competent person joins after the Company's formation.
Most CEOs will choose to treat these officers in one of two ways: (a) as his "arms and legs" or (b) as his personal "cabinet." In the former case, the CEO clearly surpasses these officers in everyone's minds as an officer and businessman. As a result, he treats them as appendages of himself, and they accept such treatment. Obviously, they MUST see themselves in this light. This kind of CEO will typically meet each individual one-on-one with the CS in tow.
The CEO who treats his VPs as her personal cabinet will treat them as near equals. He'll often solicit their opinions on ideas; he may even abide by their advice if a majority of them oppose him in a vote. This kind of CEO will often call small informal meetings with the four of them, again with the CS to attend.
Some CEOs use a mix. They may, for example, have a weak VPoS so that the CEO really does his job. The CEO may then hold these informal meetings minus the VPoS.
Occasionally, a CEO may need to assemble the whole management team. In such instances, the CEO may actually bring all of the officers.
These meetings, perhaps obviously, serve more than one purpose. On the one hand, they allow the CEO to get feedback, ideas, etc.. On the other hand, they allow him to assemble support for his policies. This may sound very selfish, but consider it from the point of view of the other officers. A VPoM needs the CEO to endorse his ideas, even rephrase them as "The VPs and I think we should," just as much as CEO needs the officers. Strong CEOs will always assemble at least some key personnel before a potentially tough Board meeting.
More than anyone else, the CEO needs to maintain a wary relationship with the advisors. They come to the meetings to give advice and, occasionally, to send a child home as well as for legal reasons. The more the CEO relies on their advice, the weaker becomes his leadership.
A strong CEO will, therefore, not let the advisors "run the company." He has been elected to run the company!
A good CEO then should make meetings with the advisors just that. Sessions in which he seeks their advice. As many questions as possible result in information. For example, if the CFO has problems with his records, a smart CEO will ask for help from the advisors and then teach the employee himself. Further, he will take care that, whenever possible, officer decisions occur without the presence of the advisor. Once the CEO starts asking, "What do you think?" to the advisor, he starts losing his company.
However, the CEO should try to keep a good relationship with his sponsors and encourage that company members treat them with respect. This should make perfect sense. If a company performs WELL, then the sponsor will do very little. This shows the CEO knows how to run his company, but it does NOT mean that the sponsors did not come to meeting or stand by to help if needed. To disparage them because they "do nothing" does not mean that they do not dedicate their time [at frankly bargain rates] and play their role as adult supervisors.
In the event a company fall into trouble, the sponsors will play a very ACTIVE role. Feeling angry at the sponsors for needing to keep a close watch on a company puts all of the blame and guilt in the wrong place. It properly belongs to the company and CEO. The Romans have a term for this "blaming the messenger." Further, it wastes a lot of energy better spent employed in working on fixing the problems!
As noted in various places, the sponsor's fee will now come in two piece. The KD100, whether in stock or totally in cash, represents half the salary that an adult would get sponsoring a club and a quarter of that for tuturing a similar number of hours.
As noted above, The CEO must clear cancelling OR reschedling meetings with the sponsors.
The program director's principal task lies in working with ALL companies, not yours. Thus the Program Director will run officer training sessions, large group assemblies, etc..
One exception to this: ALL CEOs must email an agenda of their next meeting to the Program Director and sponsor or present it on the Saturday before the meeting. The agenda should take the form used by Dr. Dan in his class, i.e., outline and points, though the president may give more details. For example:
Date: September 18 Company: Blue CEO: Ahmed Al-Noone A. Take role, prepare for preparation [10 minutes] B. Product and officer's meetings 1. Workers production on coat hangers [50 minutes] 2. CEO meets with VPoS and VPoM C. Break [10 minutes] D. Production and officer's meeting 1. Workers production on coat hangers [40 minutes] 2. CEO meets with CFO. 3. All CSs meeting with Dr. Dan E. Clean-up 1. Clean-up [8 minutes] 2. VPoM and VPoS update sales and Man records F. Final words of CEO [2 minutes]In addition, the PD will meet with all CEOs on an occasional basis.
Being company president is something you either love or hate. Hopefully you ran for it because you take a personal sense of pride and responsibility in making your company run well. You have less paperwork than any other officer, but you have final responsibility for almost everything. Run your company well, and the paperwork will take care of itself.
Another piece of advice concerns tone. While K-Business workers get paid, they're doing this also because it's fun. Don't be afraid to have some fun with your company if that's your style, so long as it doesn't detract from the business. Sometimes a really silly Board meeting with games and punch and cookies can revive a tired company. Also, think of ways in which members can feel pride in their company; leave the fines and disciplinary paperwork to the CS and VPoHR.
Finally, remember that the election is a kind of bond (in the most old-fashioned sense). You've been elected not for what you have done, but for what you're promising to do. Saying that you were elected president of your K-Business company doesn't really mean anything, other than that perhaps some people didn't know your talents all that well. Finishing the year, even without making a profit, means something. Making a profit means a lot.