My dad is into business and quite established. But I decided to pursue acting. Had I joined him I would’ve become the CEO of the company and things would’ve been easier for me.
In every investment, before I get involved or invest, I always see what the mindset of the founder, the CEO, is.
Everything ultimately becomes the CEO’s problem, no matter where it starts. I can see why some CEOs crack under the pressure.
The women at all levels of the entertainment industry – from interns to Oscar winners – who kept quiet to protect their careers should be a lesson to every CEO and HR department.
Most chief executives rise to that position by being good operating managers. Few have extensive experience or training with capital allocation. What CEO wants to return excess cash to shareholders when it could be used to expand his or her empire?
Don’t be afraid to let someone go if it’s not working. You’re not a bad boss. You’re not a bad CEO.
I liked being CEO of Blockbuster, but my job is to put it on the bottom line for shareholders.
If you look at any normal organization, the CEO is the person with the highest E.Q. The person with the highest IQ is often in the back room running the financials or the operations. That’s topsy turvy.
When I got a call from Hansal Mehta, the CEO of White Feathers, asking me to come for one of their films, I was very happy. I thought they’d have an interesting role for me. But when I got to know they just wanted me to stand in for Sanjay Dutt for some scenes, I decided to give this offer the pass.
Any enterprise CEO really ought to be able to ask a question that involves connecting data across the organization, be able to run a company effectively, and especially to be able to respond to unexpected events. Most organizations are missing this ability to connect all the data together.
I was an All-American in wrestling in high school, was National Champion in Chinese kickboxing in 1999 and have spent a lot of time around professional athletes, which includes my eight-plus years as CEO of a sports nutrition company.
The problem with New Year’s resolutions – and resolutions to ‘get in better shape’ in general, which are very amorphous – is that people try to adopt too many behavioral changes at once. It doesn’t work. I don’t care if you’re a world-class CEO – you’ll quit.
I think each person, if you’re a CEO, the most important thing is to have – to me, is to pick people around you that aren’t like you, that complement you. Because you want to build a puzzle; you don’t want to stack Chiclets up and have everyone be the same. And so I believe in diversity with a capital D.
In business, sometimes you have to change the CEO in order to change the direction of the company.
There’s one thing a CEO should always keep at the front of their mind, and that’s customer needs.
The role of president, as George W. Bush commented in 2000, requires vision, management, and an eye for talent – not so different from that of CEO. But during the first years of Carter’s presidency, his Cabinet was anything but businesslike, beset by infighting and meetings that ambled.
I definitely think it’s important for a CEO of any large corporation to understand how policy impacts their business and be aware of the decisions being made in Congress.
When I was made CEO of Reynolds the first time, someone asked me what it was like to be a female CEO. But I said, ‘I don’t know what its like to be a male CEO, so I can’t really answer that question.’
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