What Would I do if I had One Month to be CEO?

Whether discussing it with our friends, seeing it as a topic on our favorite TV show, or just imagining it for ourselves, we are all familiar with the question “What would you do if you had one month to live?” And even though we’ve heard it a bunch of times before, this is not just some fantasy, throwaway question. If taken seriously, the “one month to live” question will challenge you to focus on the things that are truly important in your life, whether that be family, friends, career, or hobbies. It can also help you learn how to live life to the fullest in order to minimize and eliminate the regrets that many people have as they grow older.

Recently, I was thinking about a slightly different version of this common question. My version was related to work, and it was “What would I do if I only had one month to be CEO?” It started out innocently enough as a fleeting thought, but as soon as I took the question seriously, it spiraled into a long, well-thought-out exercise that was helpful to me, and I believe could be helpful to everyone. Some of the questions I asked myself were:

Want Your Startup to be Successful? Hire Intrapreneurs

Before I was named the CEO of Cyrus Innovation, I spent 9 great years working my way up at the company. I watched it grow from a small startup with big ideas, to the cutting-edge software development and consulting firm it is today. Before that, I spent 8 years at various other tech firms, most of which I began working with at the startup stage. And just like with every other person who chose to build their career around growing tech companies (or any type of company, for that matter), I have experienced my share of successes and failures. But from each of these experiences, I learned a valuable thing or two.

Looking back, there are some common traits that the successful companies I worked for all had in common. For one, everyone involved with these great companies, from the CEO on down to each software developer, had a passion for what the company stood for and was looking to accomplish. But that isn’t enough. At the startup stage especially, not only do you need people who are passionate, but you also need employees with a certain personality type. You need people who are willing to think outside the box to come up with great ideas, and who have the guts to pursue those ideas with a goal of putting them into play. What you need… is intrapreneurs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Programmers

No matter what type of business you are involved in, there is one element that clearly must be present in order for you to succeed. This vital element to success is TALENT, and as the CEO of software development consulting firm Cyrus Innovation, one of the most important areas I need to make sure to staff with high-level talent is our team of programmers. But picking out the right candidates who fit into our cutting-edge business model is not always easy. However, I have learned a lot of lessons over the

years that now allow me to minimize hiring mistakes.

 Here are a few common mistakes to avoid when hiring programmers:

1. Rushing to make a hire for a new project. 

Building a Company around Passion

For over 17 years, my business life has revolved around building and growing tech companies from startup through success. Doing this is a job, no doubt. But if that’s all that it was, there’s no way I would have been able to achieve the things I have throughout my career. Nor would I have enjoyed the past 17 years of my life nearly as much. No, tech entrepreneurship is more than just a job for me. It is a passion!