You Are A New CEO … Now What?

By Thomas Wiggans

We’ve all heard the story that starts like this: “A dog has been chasing a car its whole life, then one day — he catches it!” We can all relate to it because it conjures up a vivid image of goal achievement, surprise, and shock, and causes most people to recall a situation where they felt pretty much like that dog.

I was asked to share a few thoughts on what it’s like to be named CEO for the first time, and that story is the first thing that came to mind. For new CEOs, exactly when that realization hits can vary from the instant it happens to months or even years later (NOTE: if the realization hits years later, you are probably not a CEO anymore). But, I am pretty sure that almost every CEO has at least once (and most of us many times) asked themselves, “What was I thinking when I started running after that car, and what am I going to do now that I have caught it?”