Jim Schleckser, CEO of The CEO Project Jim helps leaders grow companies. Before he started the CEO Project, a firm that mentors fast-growth CEOs, he ran a technology business valued at $1.6 Billion. 

He has done business in 41 countries. He has a regular column on entrepreneurial growth issues on Inc.com. 

He has spent over 10,000 hours speaking with and interviewing CEOs. He has published two best-selling books, “Great CEOs are Lazy” and "Professional Drinking" 

This episode promises to challenge your perspective on business and offer a fresh, game-changing approach toward growth and efficacy.

Why you have to check out today’s episode

• Discover the key traits that separate exceptional CEOs from the worst and the three critical areas to find kinks in your business system and how to fix it
• Find out how to improve your business from hiring the right talent and delegating effectively, to fostering a positive company culture.
• Learn how highly-effective CEOs approach their business both from the ins and outs

"The caliber of the people you have around yourself that you attract is critical as a CEO.” - Jim Schleckser

Topics Covered:

01:13  What distinguishes exceptional CEOs from the worst

03:49  Jim discloses the three critical areas to find the kinks in your system

06:47  All about hiring: what does Jim prioritize in hiring talents and team members

07:49  How to attract high-caliber people to your team

08:25  What does Jim have to say about working with "Brilliant jerks"

10:12  Jim shares the intellectual framework on which businesses should operate

11:50  The secret sauce of Breakthrough thinking

13:48  Two ways to Fixing the kink in your system

16:57  Jim’s insight on the classic constraint faced by CEOs who can’t let go of their functional             roles

19:19  Expert advice for CEOs seeking to thrive in the international business field

23:22  The key strategy to identifying and hiring top performers

25:39  Everything you need to know about delegation and how to get comfortable with it.

Key Takeaways

"Think about that CEO working 80 hours a week. I can almost automatically tell you they have a poor-quality team around them."

"The caliber of the people you have around yourself that you attract is critical as a CEO"

"Companies don't grow, people do. So if the business is growing and the people are not, the business is not going to grow"

"Learning as a competency is one of the prime importance both for the CEO and their team because they have to demonstrate this; they have to model being a learner."

"You can't take your own lens and stick to it. You have to be willing to say, okay, if that's the way the ball game is played here, we're going to play differently."

"As a leader, you have an obligation to the team to move out low performers. Everybody's looking at you to do that."

"We define our business by our organization's culture---not only by what we do but also what we are not willing to tolerate.”

"It's when there are 32 shades of gray and you've gotta pick the best shade of gray for your particular organization, that's when we and your CEO peer group come into play"

People/Resources Mentioned

• Great CEOs are Lazy:  https://www.amazon.com/Great-CEOs-Are-Lazy-Schleckser/dp/0988309912
• Professional Drinking: A Spirited Guide to Wine, Cocktails and Confident Business Entertaining:  https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Drinking-Cocktails-Confident-Entertaining-ebook/dp/B08J1K89RZ/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
• The CEO Project: CEO Peer Groups for high-performing CEOs: https://theceoproject.com/ 

Connect with Jim Schleckser

• Website: https://theceoproject.com/ 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IncCEOproject 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/243491/ 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/incceoproject?lang=en 
• Email: jimschleckser@IncCEOProject.com 

Connect with Dr. Katrina Burrus

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaburrus/
• Website: https://mkbconseil.ch/contact/