How a CEO's Mindset Could Guide the Fed

I have recently been contemplating the divide between how investment managers and corporate CEOs think, and how to convert this understanding into economic and investment gains.

My firm believes that many investors (and all politicians) don’t really understand how a CEO thinks. This is a critical gap, as what executives' actions matter -- they control the majority of US commerce.

In this process, we use “CEO” collectively to mean chief executives of public and private companies, managing directors of non-profits, and any other leader that manages an organization that contributes to our GDP. It is an oversimplification, but these peoples' decisions can make or break an economy.

I believe that the following misunderstandings are perhaps at the root of our sluggish economy and wild financial swings. I’ve been on both sides of the equation, having spent 15 years as a CEO and seven as a financial analyst interacting with CEOs. We also talk regularly to hundreds of small business leaders in the technology space.

So how do CEOs think?

CEOs Need Stability and Visibility to Do Their Jobs

CEOs need a stable environment to plan against. However, the decisions they make usually require long cycles of investment and learning. They need to know that 3, 5, 10 years from now, some of their core assumptions will still be (primarily) accurate. That visibility makes them feel comfortable committing company resources, making acquisitions, and more importantly making hiring decisions. Hiring decisions require the highest level of comfort.

Why is it different? From a professional standpoint, hiring an employee (or group of employees) only to have to turn around and fire them is a leadership and judgment mistake, one that keeps you up at night. It can lead to the cascading effect of poor morale in both the company and with your reseller channel and/or supply chain partners. And when it’s part of a major strategy, it’s a mistake that can get you fired.

From a personal perspective, hiring even one employee is realizing that it’s not just your that person who depends on your judgment, but their family as well. Regardless of how it is often portrayed in the mainstream press/movies, putting little Timmy on food stamps is not something any CEO takes lightly. As a result, they are very careful in hiring decisions. Although one occasionally runs across the “ruthless” executive, the vast majority of those I have met are good people that care.

To the point about stability... it’s no accident that the late 1990’s was a great time for US business. A Democratic President and a Republican Congress almost insured that nothing big would happen on the political and regulatory scene. You could almost hear CEOs thinking, “Gridlock in Washington... now that’s something I can invest in.”

It’s also no accident that CEOs with international reach are investing heavily in the BRIC countries. They believe two things: First, that these countries will develop a much larger middle class over the next decade and the number of buyers of whatever they sell will multiply like rabbits. Second, by and large those countries want them there, and will therefore provide a business friendly environment.

In the US right now, it’s difficult to be certain about anything -- politically, fiscally, or regulatory. If any CEOs doubted that for a minute, the month of July set them straight.

CEOs Think That Investment Managers are Just Like Their Eight Year Old Daughter and Her Friends

Eight year olds live in a bubble of life that vacillates between giddy joy and deep unhappiness -- often in the same day/hour. Their view of long term is “what do I wear to school tomorrow” -- a  far cry from the CEO’s perspective just laid out.

CEOs look at the markets and shake their heads. The markets’ perception of the future can change in days. The last few weeks are a perfect example of a manic 180-degree reversal in investor sentiment from business is great to business is horrible.

In the first quarter of 2009, when the market was reaching new lows every day, most of the investment world thought “things are just terrible”. We spoke with software ecosystem executives in February and March of that quarter who kept saying that “business is actually not that bad”. We suspect this will be the case when we talk to our channel in September.