Wanted: CEO

When you think of a CEO, you think of many people, many things. You may think of our own CEO, Andrea Guerra. Maybe the past CEO of Lenscrafters, Dave Brown. Perhaps you think of other famous CEOs like Jack Welch, Charles Schwab or Sumner Redstone.
Or maybe you think of the responsibilities a CEO may have and the amount of pressure that comes with that responsibility.
CEOs are the leaders of the business world. They make the decisions, handle the money and, most importantly, they lead and inspire. They do all of these things because they are good at all of them. They are, in fact, the BEST at all of them.
Now, think of a LensCrafters General Manager. Most likely you think of yourself (if you are the GM), or your own GM. You may think of a past GM who has made an impact in your career.
Or you may think of the responsibilities a GM has and the amount of pressure that comes with that responsibility.
GMs are the leaders of the LensCrafters world. They make the decisions, handle the money and, most importantly, lead and inspire.
Wait...where have I heard that before?
When doing a little research I came across a CEO Job Description* online. I decided to do a little experiment - check this out:

All of these statements were taken directly from the LensCrafters GM Job Description.

CEO: · Supports motivation of employees in organization products/programs and operations.
GM: -Build and secure a safe, supportive and motivating working environment that encourages innovation and commitment.

CEO: - Ensures staff has sufficient and up-to-date information.
GM: -Delivers clear, motivating and constructive feedback in a timely manner to all associates.

CEO: -Looks to the future for change opportunities.
GM: - Focuses on developing the most qualified associates by ensuring training in the following areas:
- Orientation
- Sales and Service Process
- Quality, Fitting and Adjusting
- Quality Manufacturing Process
- Final Inspection
- Loss Prevention
- Company safety and regulatory compliance programs
- Leadership

CEO: - Decides or guides courses of action in operations by staff.
GM: - Encourages Associate decision making at the level closest to the customer.

CEO: - Implements plans.
GM: - Analyzes store financial data and develops/implements action plans to improve overall profitability.

CEO: - Oversees operations of organization.
GM: - Achieve store success by working toward the “maximum expectations” of the Standards of Performance guidelines.

So, as you can see - being a CEO and being a GM are not entirely different. In fact, they are very similar, just with different perspectives.
They both lead, inspire, coordinate, communicate and take ownership for an organization's (or store's) results.
Being a CEO doesn't mean that you control an entire organization or have the most power - it means that you take full responsibility for everything that happens from the top to the bottom - and everything in between.
So the next time you discuss the function of a CEO, think about what you, or your GM, is doing - they really aren't that different!

*CEO Job Description found at managementhelp.org