In my past 37 years of employment in three (3) private organizations prior to my recent retirement, I have had worked under the leadership of more than 10 CEOs who reflected either the "businessman mentality" or "administrator mentality" in management style.

Allow me to outline the traits of the two, below:-

Businessman Mentality Preference                               Administrator Mentality Preference

1. Business expansion.                                                  Business conservation & administration.

2. Marketing orientated.                                                Service orientated.

3. Sales staff and customers.                                         Documents, reports, admin. support staff.

4. Revenue and profits.                                                 Smooth workflow.

5. Public relations.                                                        Strategies and planning.

6. Articulate verbally.                                                   Articulate through writing.

7. Mobile - travel, move around a lot.                          Spend most time in office and home.

8. Socializing, sociable.                                                Homely, family conscientious.

9. Broad overview and key pointers.                            Meticulous - note all relevant details.

10. Leave processing details to others.                         Personal overseeing and supervision.

11. Discussions and meetings.                                      Paper work, reports, writing.

12. Creative and innovative.                                         Analytical.

13. Not so orderly, flexible, play by the ear.                 Orderly, structured, prioritize

14. Time management is an issue.                                Good time management.

Pertinent Question: Does an organization need a CEO who is more of the businessman type, or the administrator type?

My Answer:

* The best is a combination of both types, but that would be a tall order. Of the many CEOs whom I served in my 37 years of employment, I think I can only pin-point 1 who was able to keep a balance of the two sides to some extent. Although he was more inclined to the businessman mental frame, yet he did shift focus to the other side when and where necessary. That was the gentleman whom both the sales and administrative personnel at large were happy to work with, and that was the time (in the 80s') I had a strong sense of affiliation with the organization that employed me. The simple reason was because he knew how to take care of both the sales people and those in the administration. In fact, I was very proud working for that organization and that CEO at the period of time. And that was the period of time the organization achieved its peak in both business and service results.

If you are aspiring to be CEO one day, would you deem yourself to be in the left category (businessman mentality) or right category (administrator mentality)? If you think you may not have the combination of both sides, you would still have a solution: Hire a No. 2 in hierarchy who is strong in the category which you yourself are not strong in. However, one word of caution: Ensure he complements and supplements your efforts, and not negate your style of management.

Now, allow me to end this posting with a couple of quotes for you to think about:

"See and perceive more;
Listen more;
Gather more (information for your own file);
Talk less;
Mind less (especially matters not relating to your realm of work);
But when there's a right opportunity to do so, fan hard either by words or actions;
To stir up an unexpected breeze that jolts up other people!"

"The best way to confirm a person's true traits is to recall and analyze his past deeds, actions, behavior and demeanor. If a particular trend is eminently noticeable, then that reflects his inner character."

Cheers and best regards.