Do you take advantage of opportunities to engage in discussions with individuals who have founded a successful company or risen to the role of CEO? Imagine – a few minutes to pick the brain of someone who has persevered through failures, overcome personal obstacles, and remained committed to a goal – to eventually become the highest-ranking executive in a company. If you ask the right questions, you can gain valuable insights that can help you in your own business or career journey. Here are five insightful questions to ask a CEO:
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The daily routine of a CEO can teach you valuable lessons about productivity. This question can help you discover what activities are central to running a business, and how leaders manage their time. You could also ask a CEO how their daily routine has changed since they joined or started the company. You may be surprised to discover that many CEOs devote a portion of their day to learning and exploring new material, and they may read a significant amount of books over the course of a year.
Such habits allow CEOs to achieve more than the average person typically does. Asking a CEO how they typically spend their day can help you identify areas in your life where you can streamline your activities and focus on things that speed up your personal and business growth.
‘Why’ is always an intelligent question to ask a CEO. It gives you a peak into their mindset and the motivating force behind their actions. This question can give you a deeper understanding of the key values behind an organization, even beyond what you could find on the about section of the company website. Most people start a company to fill a gap in the market or create a product or service they need but can’t find anywhere. Speaking to a CEO about this subject can help you learn how to target a niche, should you decide to start your business one day.
An individual who becomes CEO rarely reaches that position by chance. Their progress and success is usually the result of deliberate action and a commitment to mastery. If you’re feeling stuck about what areas of your life and career to work on first, the reply you receive to this question can provide some direction. Once you learn about the top skill that a CEO values, you can enroll in online professional certificates to guide you in developing that skill yourself. Sometimes the reply to this question can lead to a eureka moment where you start focusing on an area of personal growth that you’d previously neglected or underestimated.
The role of a CEO is to constantly improve an organization’s operations, and to make the company better than it has even been before. Therefore, the CEO has likely given extensive thought to aspects of the company that they would like to change. Knowing what the CEO wants to change can help you better align with the company’s future direction if you are an employee, or avoid certain pitfalls if you’re an entrepreneur.
This is a fun question that the CEO may also quite enjoy answering. Successful people learn from other successful people, and this question can help you discover other founder stories to research and be inspired by. There are many reasons why a CEO might pick a particular company, including factors such as profitability, global reach, brand presence, and socio-cultural or environmental impact. Therefore, this question helps you identify how a CEO measures success and what areas of the company’s growth they find most fulfilling on a personal level.
The above questions can help you strike up an interesting conversation with a CEO and leave a memorable impression. However, the greatest benefits you’ll likely gain from your discussion are the insights and lessons that you can apply in your own life. Always take advantage of opportunities to speak with people who have already done what you’d like to do. The personal reflections and responses to your questions will both encourage you and equip you with valuable knowledge needed for your continual progress.
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