Before I began my tenure as editor in chief of this magazine, I didn’t think too much about business essentials when I interacted with a company. My experience with a company would be satisfying or it would be less so, but I only thought of it as something that happened to me, not as something that could be symptomatic of other people’s experiences as well. Now when I go about my daily life and interact with companies, thanks to the contacts I’ve made with many of our nation’s most significant directors, I often find myself thinking something when I am not quite satisfied.
“Does the CEO know?”
I recently asked myself this question in The Bahamas. My family and I went to the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort (which is capably led by a non-CEO — President and Managing Director Audrey Oswell) for a long weekend. Despite being there for just three mornings, we brought with us a ridiculous amount of cereal. But we had no milk. I went to the in-hotel store to buy milk and they only sold it in singles. So, I needed to go offsite. I asked the incredibly friendly staff where I could buy milk and they informed me of a close-by store. Immediately, I set out on a one-mile-or-so walk around the resort’s yacht-strewn marina to buy the milk. I was able to purchase a half-gallon of milk, and while I was there I picked up a 24-pack of bottled water. After having purchased the water, I remembered “Oh yeah, I now have to walk this heavy, awkward package 5,280 feet back to my hotel room.” I still have not recovered. Two things:
1) The Atlantis Paradise Island Resort is amazing, with a world-class water park, tremendous dining options and a casino that I tried my darndest not to enter with any amount of money in my pocket. I would recommend it to pretty much anyone.
2) I learned later that if I had simply walked out of the entrance to the resort as opposed to traversing the marina, I would have shaved off about 90% of my travel time and back pain. My bad.
But still, it made me think, “Does the CEO know?” Does the CEO know that the resort doesn’t sell milk in bulk? Does the CEO know that there are people who may walk out for said milk, pick up 24 pounds of water and make the poor decision of walking a long distance back to the resort with it? And, if the CEO did know that, would the resort perhaps begin selling gallons of milk in their on-property stores? Is this sort of empathy for one’s customers something boards should be looking for in their CEOs?
CEO Magazine thinks so. In its article, “8 Essential Skills CEOs Must Embrace to Be Successful in 2024 and Beyond,” emotional intelligence lands second on the list. Author Asad Husein writes “CEOs with high emotional intelligence can understand and manage their own emotions while empathizing with the feelings and perspectives of others.” He also writes, “This skill is invaluable for … building strong relationships with stakeholders.” In other words, this is a skill that would drive a CEO to ensure that a customer didn’t have to leave the resort to properly lubricate their Fruity Pebbles. It should be noted that the article, appropriate to its title, lists seven other skills that are vital for modern CEOs. Those skills include “effective communication,” “innovation” and “digital literacy.”
But don’t just take it from a guy on the Internet – even one who has served in high-level human resources leadership positions for companies like The Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble. Take it from members of the Private Company Director Editorial Advisory Board, who were asked the most important skills for today’s CEOs. One said tech and AI. Another stated that the best CEOs will be fast learners and agile thinkers. A third stressed the necessity of vision, saying “I think CEOs have to demonstrate experience in areas where the company is going. Anticipate the tomorrows.” A fourth said, “You need someone who can navigate the political and geopolitical factors outside the company.”
As for emotional intelligence, yes, one of our Editorial Advisory Board members cited its importance. “It can be a strong influence on our ability to bring along employees and customers.”
Is making sure milk is stocked in the lobby store an essential skill for the leader of a high-profile resort? That can be argued. But the necessity of a CEO being attuned to the needs of their customers and other stakeholders is increasingly becoming more important. It is a skill that every chief executive should have in their back pocket … along with all the others.
Does your CEO know that?