4 Questions All CEOs Must Answer

Business is changing. Modern management has additional demands that management in prior decades did not require. You still have to meet quotas, make profits, and keep stockholders happy, but you also have to deal with a communication network and digital operation that has shrunk the globe and created multiple new and different metrics and challenges.

That’s not meant to be bad news. There are opportunities and conveniences now that our fathers and grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers could never have dreamed of. We can have meetings with people across the globe, face to face, without ever leaving our offices. And, while there’s less privacy because we are always reachable, we can get more done in a given hour than our predecessors could in half the day.

These new realities require a new and different approach to modern business management. Here are four questions you need to answer if you want to be successful in today’s brave new business environment.

1 – What’s the best way to make a sales contact in today’s business environment?

Calling or showing up are not your only options, and your clients know that. While being there is still almost always the most effective, some of your clients won’t appreciate the visit. They have very specific preferences. Do you know what those are for each client?

2 – Does your team understand how to extend and support your branding across all business aspects? Do you?

Consistency in all venues matters. And the venues grow every day. These are opportunities to either define and entrench your brand or to confuse and distract your customers. No matter what you do, it will result in one or the other. Better be sure.

3 – Are you up to date on the demographic shifts in your most profitable demos?

Population and culture are changing rapidly. If you haven’t already taken steps to keep up, you’re already behind. Better get on that, and ignite your audience.

4 – Is your Information Technology up to par?

Unless you understand all the right questions to ask here, the answer is no. Old computers that “get it done” are no longer sufficient. If you don’t understand why, you’re missing out in a big way.

So, what about it. Did you have answers to all these questions, or are you still working on it? Are there others you have found helpful? Share in the comments below.

Elie Hirschfeld is a NY based real estate developer.