Wednesday, March 5, 2008

My first lessons

Been planning on writing a blog, to note down all the lessons that I have been learning as an entrepreneur in training.

Some of the key lessons that I have observed over the last 2 months are:

(Assuming that I am going to be an entrepreneur)

Ø Being a CEO is not a right that I can take for granted. It is a job position with a high degree of responsibility needed for it. Being a CEO is like being one of the main pillars for the mansion. All pillars, like the supervisors of the different departments are equally important for the mansion to be stable and upright. Many CEOs in privately held companies assume that they are the mansion.

Ø I am going to make it clear to all my employees that I also am doing a job for the company. I am working for the company, just like they are.

I am also going to maintain the same timings as them and work equally hard for the company to grow. Like all other employees, I am going to be on schedule to meetings, request everything politely, etc.

Ø I am going to take just a salary from the company. That salary has to be equal to the manager’s salary or less than that during the initial growing years. When the company has become self sufficient, I am going to cap my salary at 15-30% of the top salary in the company. This is very important. I just can’t take money out of the company for personal uses. This happens a lot in small scale Indian companies, where CEOs don’t have a line between the company’s finances and their finances.

Remember: I am also an employee of the company, who gets paid for his work. The company pays everyone.

Treating fellow employees:

Ø Employee retention is the key. Keep all the employees very satisfied.

Ø Even if the pay is less than the competitors, if you treat the employees with respect and interact with their personal life, they will like to stick to the company.