November 7, 2013

President, CEO and Janitor

Eric Griffin

President, CEO and JanitorThe debate over “do titles matter?” is age-old, with no right or wrong answer. Some business owners say titles are a no-cost way for their company to offer employees value. Some say titles are worthless – it’s whether or not you execute that really counts.

However there’s something that small business owners do that irks me. When your company has 1, 2, 5, etc people in it, what’s the point of designating yourself 1 or more executive titles (for example, “President, CEO and Founder”)? Why have anyone in the company at the “C-Level”? Can you really call yourself the CEO if there’s virtually no one reporting to you, and your day is comprised of doing things like order entry, customer support, and/or cleaning the office?

I believe titles don’t hold as much weight as people like to think. What you’re capable of and what you have accomplished in the past can not be wrapped up in something so simple as a title. There are 3 main rebuttals people have to this skip-the-title philosophy:Roblox HackBigo Live Beans HackYUGIOH DUEL LINKS HACKPokemon Duel HackRoblox HackPixel Gun 3d HackGrowtopia HackClash Royale Hackmy cafe recipes stories hackMobile Legends HackMobile Strike Hack

Potential clients won’t talk to you

Trying to land that client, or get that vendor to talk to you? If you aren’t getting a response, is your title to blame? I doubt it. If you have what the other side wants or needs there is no reason a title will kill a deal. Whether you’re an executive or not, your ability to show people you are the decision maker is what really counts.

You need a title for your resume

People argue that if you sell your company, move on, or your company closes, your title is valuable on your resume. Anyone hiring for a position knows that beyond the title, what you say you have done (and more importantly, what you can prove you have done) is what substantiates the decision to hire you. Whether you were a CEO or an entry level employee, it doesn’t matter if the history isn’t there to show what you can bring to a potential employer.

Your company will appear small without executive level titles

Good! Why? Because you are small, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Why create a false sense of your businesses size when your product or service is what really counts. Being small has tons of advantages – you can be flexible, act quick, and take risks larger companies may not take.

There’s a great quote from Amy Millman, president of Springboard Enterprises, in response to a business owner telling Millman her title was chairman, CEO, president, and chief marketing officer. Millman’s response? “Well, there’s no titles left for them [your other employees].”

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