November 2024
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<QuestionsCEO>
Exhibit <2> of <2>
The CEO checklist: A tool for leaders to evaluate themselves against
best practices in each of the six responsibilities of the CEO’s role.
Questions every CEO should be able to answer
Direction-setting checklist: Be bold Not at all Completely
• Vision: Do we have a clear and compelling vision that reframes what winning
looks like, and is it owned by the whole enterprise?
• Strategy: Have we created a short list of clearly defined big moves at the
enterprise level that will distance us from our competitors?
• Resource allocation: Are we “thinking like an outsider” to actively reallocate
resources (eg, dollars, people, and management attention) to our highest priorities,
even when it’s hard to do?
Organizational-alignment checklist: Treat the soft stuff as the hard stuff
• Culture: Are we targeting and systematically pursuing specific areas of cultural
change to further execute our strategy?
• Organizational design: Is our organization characterized by a balance of stability
and agility that maximizes the speed and effectiveness of execution?
• Talent: Are the most value-creating roles in our organization filled with the right
talent, and do they have a strong leadership pipeline?
Leadership mobilization checklist: Solve for the team’s psychology
• Team composition: Is my senior team the right size, comprising people with
complementary skills and characterized by an “enterprise first” mindset?
• Teamwork: Does my senior team effectively use data and dialogue to make timely
decisions on topics that only they can take on?
• Operating rhythm: Does my senior team have an effective annual operating rhythm
and business review cadence that drives execution and minimizes surprises?
Board engagement checklist: Help directors help the business
• Relationships: Have I built trust with my board members by being “radically
transparent” and showing an interest in their views?
• Capabilities: Do we have the right profiles on the board, and are we sufficiently
educating directors and pulling them in to help where they can?
• Board meetings: Are board sessions well prepped, effectively run, and focused on
the future (going well beyond fiduciary topics)?
External-stakeholder-connection checklist: Start with ‘Why?’
• Purpose: Are we clear on the holistic impact we aspire to (our “why?”), and have
we embedded that into the core of how we run our business?
• Interactions: Do we fully understand our stakeholders’ needs (their “why?”) and
find constructive common ground with them?
• Moments of truth: Have we built resilience ahead of any potential crises so that
we’ll be able to mitigate their impact and use them to unlock opportunities?
Personal-effectiveness checklist: Do what only you can do
• Time and energy: Do I manage my time and energy well, and do I have the right
office support in place to help me successfully and sustainably do what only I can
do as the CEO?
• Leadership model: Am I leading in a way that is authentic to my convictions and
values while also adjusting my behaviors to what the organization needs?
• Perspective: Do I approach my position with humility, focusing on helping others
to succeed and continually improving my ability to do so?
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