If your business is a recognized name within its field, it's possible that certain misconceptions might build up around it. These can help get people talking about your business, but it's no good if all the talk has no basis in reality, or obscures the real work done by a particular CEO.
There's no better example of this than Apple. Because of the company's titanic presence, many assumptions about how it manages its business persist. But in a recent Fast Company piece, former Apple senior designer Mark Kawano discussed the reality of working at the computer company under the legendary Steve Jobs.
Rather than uphold the image of the company as a hyper-productive futurist monolith, Kawano instead focused on the looser and more practical aspects of the design team. He also had some words to say about Jobs and the way his famous sense of purpose didn't necessarily translate into arrogance on a day-to-day basis so much as passion.
"I think Steve had a very low tolerance for people who didn't care about stuff," Kawano says. "He had a very hard time understanding why people would work in these positions and not want to sacrifice everything for them."
As important as a specific CEO tenure might be—especially that of a founder—the overall impact of a corporate culture may be more far-reaching and important. An article on Forbes recently looked at the ways in which corporate culture "flows from the top," meaning that the leader sets the example but isn't the end of the conversation. Without guidance and a clear attitude, the company may appear as desperate or unfocused.
Employing an executive search firm can help businesses take a proactive stance in finding the right person to lead their corporate environment. The key is finding a dynamic individual who strikes a balance between being the face of a company and not overshadowing the work of the entire team.
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