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Seven score and fifteen years ago, Abraham Lincoln’s inspired speech at the Gettysburg Cemetery dedication included these immortal words: “…our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Four score and seven years earlier, one of those fathers, an inspired Thomas Jefferson (with suggestions from no less able an editor than Ben Franklin), authored what is arguably the most important secular document in history. The second paragraph of America’s Declaration of Independence begins with this passionate passage:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

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In my last column I stated that every business, including small ones, have assignments that can only be performed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Plus, I revealed:

1. CEO strategic responsibilities are not optional.
2. Small business CEOs have to periodically transport themselves from the operating trenches to a 30,000-foot strategic orbit.
3. The CEO’s three Big Pictures: Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going?

The third Big Picture is the sole domain of the CEO, and that’s what we’re going to cover now. A handy way to find answers to “Where are we going?” is to apply what I call the Big Four Factors: Bricks, Clicks, People, and Capital.

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Every business has specific assignments that must be performed by the Chief Executive Officer, a.k.a CEO. Not the founder, owner, or manager; the CEO.

It’s not difficult for a small business owner to understand the role of general manager, because that assignment comes preloaded with day-to-day operation stuff, which is always chock full of actions and reactions. But it’s another matter to get that same person to isolate a CEO’s strategic foresight assignments from a manager’s tactical tasks required to open the doors and serve customers today.

A CEO’s job is to carve out and commit to the time, energy, and assets to develop the strategies that make sure the business’s doors are still being opened next year and the year after. Let’s look at the three focal points of the job of CEO.

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In her second-most-popular song, Tina Turner sang, “What’s love got to do with it?”  Out here in the Main Street Marketplace, the answer is a lot. 

Indeed, love is the reason people start businesses. We love to make and sell things: shoes, tires, hamburgers, cars, soap, computers, bread, air conditioners – you get the picture. You love your business; I love my business. Starting and running a business is a love story. 

Yes, I know. Sometimes our businesses are not easy to love. In fact, our business is often like our teenagers: You may not always like it, but you always love it. Which is a good thing, because if you didn’t love your business you wouldn’t come back the day after it gave you the worst day of your life. 

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