As the leader of your business, it’s ultimately up to you to steer your organization in the right direction. A lot of responsibility rests on your shoulders, particularly if you are running a medium to large enterprise. You’ll have done something right so far, given that your business has reached such an impressive size. But, that doesn’t mean the hard work stops there!

You will still need to keep making the right decisions and knowing when to call it a day on bad ones. So, what can you do as a CEO to continue to keep your business on track? Here are some practical suggestions to help you avoid running your business aground and enjoy some smooth, plain sailing:

Get the big picture on what’s going on in your business

Before you do anything else in your organization, you must have a full summary of its financials. Apart from that, you’ll also need to know things like what each team member does. And how they contribute to your business. And, which sales and marketing methods offer the best return on investment (ROI).

So, how can you collate all that information in one easy to digest place? Well, it’s possible to create a CEO dashboard - but you’ll need to be a data-driven chief executive first! That means having access to a plethora of data that you can harness and format into an easy-to-read summary.

Believe it or not, even small business CEOs have the power to create a CEO dashboard. Many software solutions let you use a variety of data sources. Once you’ve got that sorted, you’ll have easy access to the information you need. Soon, you won’t have to spend ages searching for information or waiting for reports from other team members.

Invest in the right culture for your business

It’s essential to have a clear picture of your goals and priorities in business. But, it’s equally crucial to create a company culture that reflects the actual values of your organization. The last thing you want is to have a negative culture manifest itself because you were too busy spending time on less important things.

Here are some examples of how you can curate the culture you want for your business:

• Celebrate victories that align with your core values with all colleagues;

• Make sure you highlight the smaller stories that show how your firm goes beyond the call of duty for its clients;

• Clearly convey the goals and priorities of your business;

• Make sure those messages get conveyed at the recruitment stage to attract the right people for your organization.

Hold everyone accountable - including yourself

Last but not least, consistency pays dividends when it comes to acting on priorities, goals, and values. As the buck stops with you, everyone in your business must get held to account. And that includes yourself!

What you don’t want to do is waste time, money, and talent on processes that offer little to no value to your company’s root cause. Everyone has a job to do in your business, and it’s vital they do it to the best of their abilities.