Lead From the Top: 5 Core Responsibilities of a CEO

What are the responsibilities of a CEO?

This is something everyone at a company from an entry-level employee to the chief executive should know. After all, understanding what is required of a CEO helps him or her set the stage for the success of the enterprise It also helps employees better understand what the CEO is trying to accomplish, how they can be in support and what they should aspire to accomplish.

CEOs have five key responsibilities, no matter the company's size, industry or geography. Only the chief executive -- who  has a holistic view of the firm -- can take on these duties:

1. Own the vision. A CEO should determine and communicate the organization’s strategic direction. Until that's settled, making decisions about anything else at the business is difficult. And without this, the company is merely a collection of people pursuing individual goals, guided by their own values.

While other people may help shape the strategic vision, the CEO must be able to describe it in a clear, engaging and exciting way for all stakeholders. All the players in the organization should understand how this direction affects their job and daily responsibilities. Everything the CEO does should support this vision. Too many CEOs have allowed the strategic vision to be nothing more than slogans on a piece of paper rather than guidance informing all key decisions.

2. Provide the proper resources. Only the CEO can perform the task of balancing resources -- the two most important ones being capital and people. The CEO must make both available in the proper quantities and at the right time for the company to succeed.

All executives have experience dealing with budgets and allocating resources. But the CEO's job involves keeping a proper balance of resources for all the disparate groups and initiatives, according to the company’s goals. Skill in making such decisions requires a deep understanding of all aspects of the business as well as a clear vision.

Putting the right people in the right positions with the right training is probably the single most important thing a CEO can do. With the right team, all things are possible. With the wrong team, nothing else matters.

3. Build the culture. Culture is the set of shared attitudes, goals, behaviors and values that characterize a group. It adds up to how things get done at a company and influences the entirety of the employee experience and thus the customer experience. Every organized group of individuals develops a culture -- whether it's explicitly recognized or not -- and the CEO must constantly observe and be involved to achieve the desired culture.

The most critical part of culture is values: The CEO ensures that those values are applied consistently from top to bottom, across all departments. A good culture makes people feel safe and respected, enabling them to perform at their best.

4. Make good decisions. A new CEO is often surprised by the breadth of issues confronting him (or her). One minute the CEO is discussing a new product, the next a human resources issue -- and then along comes a legal issue. It's impossible for anyone to be an expert in all aspects of the business, yet the CEO is the person tasked with making the decisions. Many problem require a solution that will end up affecting multiple departments, and only the CEO is empowered to take such an action. Everyone else can pass the buck from time to time, but the CEO will make the final call when no one else will or can.

5. Oversee and deliver the company's performance. Everyone agrees that the CEO is ultimately responsible for a company’s performance. To be successful, he or she must take an active role in driving that performance. This requires maintaining a keen awareness of the firm's industry and market and being in touch with the core business functions to ensure the proper execution of tasks.

The CEO also serves as the interface between internal operations and external stakeholders. He or she needs to ascertain how different stakeholders expect the company to perform, interpret this for internal teams and then be sure the proper metrics accurately gauge performance. “You get what you measure” is an apt adage. The CEO sets the bar for the level of performance to be reached, regardless of the company's size, type, circumstances or stakeholders.

Some CEOs might find be content to sit back and let the job arrive at their doorstep; after all, there are always tactical things that need to be done. But successful CEOs plan how they spend their time, according to the above responsibilities (and not just tend to urgent to-dos). To successfully grow a company, the CEO should have a clear picture of how to fulfill these functions that only he or she can do, prioritize them and find balance when dealing with the onslaught of issues.

Inside the Mind of the Millennial Consumer (Infographic)

Millennials carry about $200 billion in annual buying power, yet many retailers are missing the opportunity to connect with them. In this infographic created by Column Five and payment products company Merchant Warehouse, you can take a peek at some data on Millennials' buying habits. 

via inc

7 Killer Tips for Logo Design

Designing a logo is simple, right? Think again. There's more to crafting a brand's visual identity than just placing a name in a square and calling it a day. Logo designers are in high demand, and it's for good reason — a logo is often a company's first impression, one that can impact a customer's brand perception, purchase decisions and overall attitude toward a product.

We live in a society painted with brand logos. Even toddlers who can't yet tie their own shoelacesrecognize many logos or are able to deduce what a company sells just by looking at its brandmark.

For those who are about to embark on a brand design journey, or think it's time for their company's visual identity to undergo a face lift, Mashable asked some some design experts to provide tips on creating a great logo.

1. Be unique and clever

A logo is what helps distinguish a brand from its competitors, so it's important that the image stands out from the rest — something many brands struggle with.

In many cases, imitation is the best form of flattery — with logo design, this is not the case.

"What’s important is to create something that you believe is different from anything already out there,” David Airey

"What’s important is to create something that you believe is different from anything already out there,” David Airey, a graphic designer and creator of website Logo Design Lovesays. "It’s highly unlikely (some say impossible) that what you create will be original, but that should be the goal."

Deborah Harkins, creative director at crowdsourced design website 99designs, reiterates the risk of plagiarism. "Once something appears online, there’s simply no way to guarantee it won't be used in some shape or form in another forum." Designers who are unsure of the originality of their design can actually check for plagiarism on sites such as Logo Thief.

Creating a unique design isn't all about avoiding imitation, but also about designing something out-of-the-box. It’s tempting to just throw an industry icon on the page, but it’s important to think creatively. "The Mercedes logo isn’t a car. The Virgin Atlantic logo isn’t an airplane. The Applelogo isn’t a computer," Airey notes in his book.

SEE ALSO: Branded Viral Videos: The Secret Marketing Weapon

2. Understand the brand

Yes, a logo is an image, but it’s also an introduction to a brand. The logo must reach a specific audience and when designing, you must keep this in mind. Write down what you think about the brand; perhaps even create a mood board with imagery that reminds you of the brand’s ideology — check out websites like Niice for some inspiration. But be wary of becoming inspired by only aesthetics rather than deeper meaning. "Researching other visual brands can be helpful, but designers need to be careful not to take the inspirations too literally," Harkins says. "Any design work must be original and map directly back to your client’s unique brand attributes."

Is the brand utility-driven or is it more focused on evoking emotion? Is it contemporary or quirky? What does the customer care about, and what does the brand aspire to be? While it is helpful to stay up to date on design trends, it's more vital to stay true to a brand's overarching personality. Here's a quick brand personality evaluation that can help you along the way.

More than anything, know what your logo means. Every logo has some kind of a history, filled with meaning and purpose. Take Apple, for instance — the fruit is missing a "byte." OrWikipedia, an unfinished globe of puzzle pieces covered with glyphs from different writing systems. Both logos are simple, but have an added twist that circles back to brand ideology.

IMAGE: APPLE; WIKIPEDIA

Harkins echoes the importance of understanding the brand. "Since a logo is the brand's visual keystone — the most concise expression of its personality — an honest approach to defining its DNA is imperative to a successful result."

3. Color is key

IMAGE: FLICKR, CAPTURE QUEEN

When taking the brand’s personality into account, you have to think about every aspect of the image. Bright and bold colors may grab someone's attention, but could also seem brash; muted tones exude sophistication, but could be overlooked. Every color has a different implication and can bring nuance to your message — don't fall into the trap of conveying the wrong message because of a simple brush stroke. The Logo Company released an article "The Science Behind Colors" and an infographic displaying The Psychology of Color in Logo Design. Here’s a quick break-down:

• Red: energetic, sexy, bold
• Orange: creative, friendly, youthful
• Yellow: sunny, inventive, optimism
• Green: growth, organic, instructional
• Blue: professional, medical, tranquil, trustworthy
• Purple: spiritual, wise, evocative
• Black: credible and powerful
• White: simple, clean, pure
• Pink: fun and flirty
• Brown: rural, historical, steady

4. What's in a name?

According to Airey, a logo consists of two elements: A wordmark and a symbol. Before a company can think about solely representing itself with a symbol, a great deal of advertising must be done (think: Starbucks or Mercedes). Some companies choose to stick to Logotype entirely, like Ray-Ban, Coca-Cola and IBM.

IMAGE: RAY-BAN; IBM; COCA-COLA

Whether your brand can use a Logotype depends on the kind of name the brand has. "If your company has a unique name, then you could get away with a logotype. But if you have a generic name, then you're going to need something to identify the company by, which can be achieved by using a logo mark," logo design blogger Jacob Cass told Mashable in a previous article. And when considering typefaces for your text, be sure to avoid gimmicky fonts, utilize negative space and perhaps tweak an existing font — websites like Font Squirrel or HypeForType are helpful. Some logos even become recognizable because of their custom fonts. Coca-Cola originated the slanted font and now others try to rip them off.

When all else fails: Turn to your friend Helvetica, a simple font that has been utilized well by many popular brands, such as Nars, Target, Crate & Barrel, American Apparel and JCPenney.

5. Keep it easy and flexible

It’s important to have a balanced combination of simple and quirky — you want your logo to be interesting, but you don’t want someone to have to sit and stare, analyzing the logo. A good example is FedEx's logo, a simple Logotype with a twist. The image utilizes negative space to create an arrow which connotes speed, precision and direction. Additionally, the company changes the color of the “Ex” in order to classify the type of shipping. Amazon, too, uses just its name, but also refers to its wide inventory with a small arrow pointing from a → z.

IMAGE: FEDEX; AMAZON

In the digital age, where logos will appear on multiple devices and across social media, you must design something that transcends paper. It must look great on different backgrounds, work for apps, icons, avatars and print, and it must be flexible in size. Take Adidas, a brand that incorporates the same motif of three parallel bars in all of its designs. The visual changes slightly depending on where you see it, but it always contains similar components. 

IMAGE: ADIDAS

 

"Finding a logo that can still be relevant (or not feel outdated) in a matter of years, or even months, when we don't even know what the web will feel like, seems to be a bit more of a challenge," Raj Abhyanker, CEO of Trademarkia says. 

You want to design something that will last through the ages, but you must be open to small iterations along the way.

You want to design something that will last through the ages, but you must be open to small iterations along the way. Most, if not all, brands will create a style guide that lays out exactly how the company should present itself across the web — here are some examples of great design guidelines.

6. Don't expect instant success

Nike; Puma; Audi — all iconic logos, but like with anything successful, it took time for these to gain popularity. Logos won’t become instantly iconic, even if you’ve designed the most beautiful combination of vectors. It depends on the product’s success and the market in which it exists. "What you think is your best design might very well be for a local craft store that only people in the nearby area ever see. And the design won’t be classed as iconic because it doesn’t have the reach of multinational businesses," Airey says. 

"Ultimately, iconic design status can only be achieved if the client fulfills their potential, too."

"Ultimately, iconic design status can only be achieved if the client fulfills their potential, too."

But what made those iconic logos so wonderful? If you look at how they originated, you see that they derived from a great understanding of brand principles. Nike designer Carolyn Davidson was told to create something that displayed motion and would look good on a shoe — hence, the swoosh; Audi represents the company’s four marques linked together; Puma, a simple visualization of the name, along with a leaping puma.

It's important to be patient and not rush to make changes with your design just because you haven't gotten the reception you initially expected. "Don’t change your logo just because you’re tired of it, or because your competitors have," Harkins says. "If the time has come to evolve your logo, look for elements that can be carried forward."

7. Use online resources and tools

There is a vast sea of information online for those who need some inspiration, collaboration or assistance when designing a company logo.

99designs offers both a Logo Store equipped with unique, hand-vetted logos for those on a tighter budget looking for off-the-shelf ideas, and the site provides an opportunity for more personalized contests where customers are integral to the outcome from the beginning. The website also helps clients make the tough decision between loads of logo submissions. "99designs customers can create a poll of their favorite submissions, and share a link via social networks and email inviting people to vote," Harkins says. "Often they’re surprised when the design they were leaning toward doesn’t come out on top! But ultimately, they need to own their decision."

For those who want to design on their own, sites like Logomaker and LogoYes are logo design interfaces that are easy-to-use and free — although, there is a fee to download higher quality versions for print.

Have you created a great logo for your company? If so, what advice can you offer? Tell us in the comments.

via mashable

5 Things Really Successful Learners Do

Many people claim to be a "lifetime learners," and with good reason. Scientists have warned that you need to keep your brain active if you want to avoid mental decay. But some people seem to learn easier and faster than others. These smart people often show creativity and innovation, and quickly pick up new skills on their own time.

Learning should be easy to do since we all go through years of schooling training on how to do it. But beyond basic acquisition of knowledge, there is a real art to intensive learning.  For deep learning you have to find the time and energy for knowledge and skills building. Really successful learners know the trick is to make the process itself as energizing and efficient as possible. Here's how they do it.

1. Imagine the outcome.Learning for learning sake is fine for academics or people with lots of time on their hands, but as a busy achiever your learning needs to have purpose. Understanding the need will help you assess how much and how fast you need to learn something. When you start out to learn a new skill set or master new knowledge, envision what you will do with it. Get a very clear mental picture of how it will change the way you work and live. Taking a language class? See yourself conversing with a new client in a foreign country. Training on new software? Picture the problem you'll solve with it and how it will streamline activity. Successful learners identify the objective at the start, and create a strong, emotionally compelling vision of what will happen when they reach that objective.

2. Think of text as a starting point. Most people remember highlighting dozens of textbooks in high school and college. And how the words started to blur as the brain was swimming in so much stuff.  If the material you're learning has a text component, think of it as just one of many places to store that information. The best learners start with the text, and then move on. They create additional opportunities for experiential learning. They might sit and dialogue with an expert or discuss it with other learners over coffee. They watch others or participate in applying the concepts in practical settings. They know the book is just one place where the information "lives," and they seek it out in other environments. The more they see those ideas or skills at work in the outside world, the more exciting the material becomes. Then going back to the text doesn't seem like such a chore.

3. Learn in your language. Every brain has a preferred method for receiving information. Some like to see it sketched out on a whiteboard, others like to hear it out loud, and others want to be on their feet tinkering with it in a practical way. Figure out what method engages your mind, and translate the material to that. If you're visual, make charts and find YouTube tutorials. If you're auditory, find lecture recordings, read it out loud to yourself, and discuss it with someone else. If you're tactile, act it out, or build a model, or use a computer simulation. Successful learners are very self aware about their own learning needs and actively communicate them to others so they get exactly what is necessary to achieve.

4. Make failure fun. There is only so much you can learn from being successful at a task from the beginning. The real learning comes from testing and pushing the boundaries. Successful learners stretch the limits and often fail willingly to understand how things work, and of course how they don't. Any time you take on something really challenging and unfamiliar, you're going to stumble and fall. No one likes to look foolish, and you may be disinclined to stretch to avoid embarrassment and blows to the ego. The more frustrated and discouraged you get, the more you may want to give up. But if you look for the humor in each letdown, share funny stories with friends and family, and laugh it off, you will be much more willing to keep trying. Ultimately it's the act of overcoming those failures that will instill greater learning for the long haul.

5. Make accountability exhilarating. People work harder when they are accountable to others for their performance. Most will study harder if a test is on the horizon. Many practice more if there's a recital in two weeks. Successful learners make themselves accountable for learning through deadlines and measurement. The challenge is that those benchmarks, even though they are motivating, often fill minds with dread.  Use the nervousness and adrenaline to your advantage. Create opportunities to display your new skills or knowledge so you can drive toward the finish line. If this makes you overly tense, make sure there are friends to support your efforts along the way.  It will make the celebration of success and learning that much sweeter.

via inc

Bill Gates speech for kids and new entrepreneurs

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your
self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters.. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Entrepreneurs reveal their failures en route to success

some of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs share their tips for business success - as well as revealing some of their biggest mistakes, and the lessons they learned.

Sir Richard Branson, founder, Virgin Group

"I suppose our most famous failure - if you can call it that - was trying to take on Coca-Cola for a year. We were doing fantastically well in the shops that we were in. Coke literally sent a 747 full of squat teams and money over, and our stocks started disappearing off the shelves. They managed to squash us, and the lesson was that you need to be better than the people you are competing with.

"My advice is five words: screw it; just do it."

Jo Malone, founder, Jo Malone and Jo Loves

"I've made hundreds of mistakes.

"When we launched our brand Jo Loves, we hadn't checked Google properly despite spending a lot of money on the IP [intellectual property]. We then found out there was someone else top of the Google list with a similar name as ours, selling vibrators. I hadn't checked. That was my biggest mistake and I had to really dust myself off and pick myself up.

"Sometimes the business you failed at takes you on a journey to something far greater down the road."

Gerald Ratner, founder of geraldonline.com, and former chief executive, Ratner Group

"Asking me about my worst mistake is a bit like asking the captain of the Titanic.

"I was asked to do a speech in 1991 for the Institute of Directors. I put a couple of jokes in, and one was about a 99p pair of earrings we sold - the same price as a Marks & Spencer sandwich - and I joked that the sandwich would last longer. And then I compounded that by talking about a £4.99 sherry decanter we sold, and I said the reason it was so cheap was because it was crap.

"The aftermath of that was that people boycotted my shops; the tabloid press in particular painted this as me making fun of my customers, which is something I would never do. They treated me as a tabloid punchbag, and it was enough to make me resign after 18 months of hanging on.

"It was a terrible experience to go through. It was a very sad end after 20 years of building my business, and it took seven years to get back on my feet.

"My advice is: don't give up. You will be rejected, but being rejected is actually the route to success. Celebrate that, because you have to go through that a few times before you achieve your goal."

Doug Richard, former Dragon and founder, School for Start-ups

"I accept the fact I'm engaged in a high-risk activity. If there's no risk there's no reward.

"I sold my second business, a software company, to a large public corporation. I took shares instead of cash and 89 days later those shares dropped by 99% and I was wiped out.

"The advice I'd give is to take cash."

Richard Reed, founder, Innocent Drinks and Jam Jar Investments

"When we started out we had one company which made our plastic bottles, and one company which bottled the crushed fruit into those bottles.

"They were totally unconnected businesses, but at separate stages both rang us and said they would no longer be able to manufacture our bottles or pack our smoothies. They only gave us 24 hours' notice. Overnight we would cease to have a business.

"We manoeuvred our way through it but it definitely taught us: focus on your Plan A, but know what to do if there's an emergency.

"If you sit around waiting until you are 100% certain or 100% confident, I don't think it's ever going to happen."

Peter Stringfellow, founder, Stringfellows nightclub

"I'm 73 years old. I've been in business nearly 50 years. I've made so many mistakes. The thing about mistakes is that you have to learn from them. Make a lot of mistakes, as long as you make a few successes.

"And don't be frightened of failure. If you really are entrepreneurial and have the passion to go forward, a few failures don't count."

Liz Earle, founder of Liz Earle Skincare

"The biggest mistake I think we made was not taking on more help in the early days. My partners and I were young mums at the time, and we were working 20-hour days. I think with hindsight we should have been kinder on ourselves, and brought in a team of specialists and experts earlier than we did.

"My one piece of advice would be not to rush things. It's incredibly tempting to accept every opportunity, even if you're not ready.

"We have an expression: if it has to be 'now', it has to be 'no'. It's really important to not get pushed into making quick decisions. I take the view that it is better to crawl, and then walk, and then run."

Dale Murray, angel investor

"I have taken some people too much at face value. I'm quite straightforward, and I thought other people would be the same. Most of them are but some people aren't. When you get those guys who aren't trustworthy and have different motivations from you, it can be quite hurtful.

"The entrepreneurs we look for dust themselves down and get back on the horse again."

via bbc