10 Tips for Getting the CEO on Your Side

Why do people marry ugly millionaires? Because that's where the money is. D'oh.

Why do people want access to the CEO? Because that's where all the money and power is. D'oh squared.

But where there is opportunity, there is risk. People are attracted to the CEO like moths to the light, and many get burned in the process.

So how do you not get burned? Start by seeing the world through the eyes of the boss.

Something odd happens to people when they become the big boss. In my case, everyone suddenly found my feeble jokes hysterically funny. My judgement became impeccable and my half-arsed ideas would be implemented by ever eager staff.

No-one told me if I was being an idiot, which was a big change from the past.

So having lived on both sides of the CEO relationship, I've compiled these 10 tips for building a relationship with the CEO.

1. Treat the CEO as a human being, because most of them are. Stop fawning, stop gaping. If you act like a junior or a vendor, you will be treated that way. CEOs want colleagues and partners who can move the organisation forward: act that way.
2. See the world through their eyes. Your pet idea may be important to you, but where does it fit in the CEO's agenda, if at all?
3. Be bold. The CEO does not want to waste time on paper clip cost saving ideas: make sure your idea makes a real difference. Have the confidence to disagree with the CEO (in private, not in public): if you save the boss from messing up, you will earn respect and trust.
4. Add value fast: Get to the point. Time is the one thing the CEO does not have in abundance.
5. Be positive. Bring solutions not problems. CEOs are always fighting fires, so they want fire fighters not arsonists on their team.
6. Be loyal. Most leaders forgive mistakes, but they do not forgive disloyalty which can be as simple as staying quiet or going absent at a critical moment.
7. Always deliver. Excuses are the rust in trust. Avoid the "I said he said she said then they said any way I said" discussion. Blame and excuses get you nowhere fast.
8. Don't hide behind PowerPoint: You set the CEO up as judge and jury over your presentation. Instead, talk to the CEO like you would to one of your colleagues. CEOs trust what they hear informally much more than what they see formally: PowerPoint and other reports have all the credibility of Pravda in the Soviet era.
9. Prepare for both the formal and informal encounters with the CEO. If you bump into the CEO in the corridor and (s)he asks you how things are going, what will you say? It is a golden opportunity to make your mark., for better or for worse.
10. Do not rely on just the CEO. Build your network. If you are the CEO's pet, that's fine until the CEO moves on. Make sure you can survive the inevitable succession crisis: you need a network of allies across the organisation.