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Thread: When to use CEO
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01-03-2002, 10:17 PM #1Web Hosting Guru
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When to use CEO
OK I see tons of people toss around the CEO title.
So I got to ask this.
What make a person qualified to use the title.
Reason I ask is, I've never used it. I've owned my own corp's and I have had in the past over 3-5 million in recievables per month with good solid margins and 35 people on staff. The best business card I ever used were the ones with the title "last and final say so". The best title I ever encounter was "big kahuna" (sp?) and that was from a huge shipping company in Denmark.
I was just Michael the owner, but the title CEO get's toss around here like fries at Burger King at lunch.
-Sqposter / MichaelSpam hater, and lover of the spews list. Keep the internet clean
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01-03-2002, 10:32 PM #2Web Hosting Master
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It is more of a position (generally) set up when you incorporate a business. Someone has to be treasurer, ceo, etc. Often it can be the same person, but with an incorporated business, no one 'owns' it or 'runs' it (per se), it is owned by the share holder(s), and run by the board of directors who decides who the ceo is. Obviously if this is one person, then it is more of a formality than anything, but when the business gets bigger, goes public, etc., then things make more sense. The CEO of IBM does not own IBM, etc., nor did he hire himself, etc...
Edit: I realize you know most of this, but I suppose I'm just typing as to why it is used. If you are the CEO, why not use it in your title? I know two types of people. Those who *always* use titles to make them sound more important (custodial engineer = janitor), and those who are the owners or heads of companies who (when someone calls especially), they 'have to check with their boss'
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01-03-2002, 11:52 PM #3Web Hosting Guru
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A CEO manages a company, a group, a team and above all, executes orders, functions, operations...
I have been waiting to say something about this for a long time, as I have seen many a people here (and elsewhere on the Net) especially, 1-2 man outfits signing themselves as CEO's. The CEO title has been butchered very well in the Internet era and with regards to new startups and garage operations. I think one should wait and hire a group of people (at least 50) before attaching the title of a CEO. The worst is when you know there is only one person in the company err... business, and he/she is the CEO.
So, in my opinion unless one is actually "executing a firm, a group of executives, and managing a team" the title of a CEO is a joke.
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01-04-2002, 12:01 AM #4Web Hosting Master
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Big Kahuna!!!
Well now I have something new to put on my business cards
Thanks!!!
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01-04-2002, 01:01 AM #5Web Hosting Master
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What title does a 1 man company give to that 1 man? Owner, CEO, President what?
-Jeff Jones
Nublar Cloud Hosting
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01-04-2002, 01:21 AM #6Web Hosting Guru
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Originally posted by Chicken
Edit: I realize you know most of this, but I suppose I'm just typing as to why it is used. If you are the CEO, why not use it in your title? I know two types of people. Those who *always* use titles to make them sound more important (custodial engineer = janitor), and those who are the owners or heads of companies who (when someone calls especially), they 'have to check with their boss'
You know Chicken, I was going to give you a slight roasting for having given a bad explination of a corp stucture titles ( pres. v-pres. sec. treas. are the 4 that run the boat, CEO and pres. are simular but look at apple computers and GE structure those 2 titles happen there ) but anyway...
I worked on Wall Street in the 80's and 90's ( lot's of fun times I can tell you). I was lucky that I met just about every power broker that made the press back in those days. and nobody had their titles on their cards. you were a player or you were not. Simple. Even the CEO of coke and American Express did not have it on there cards ( hell, I recall meating Larry Tisch, his card just said Larry with a Number).
I never felt that the title CEO ment anything unless, as best described by Gurudev "executing a firm, a group of executives, and managing a team" + plus the important part " willing to take the public heat for the company big screw ups.".
I myself have never used it because, well, I figured that, you needed at least 100 million in sales or 200 employees. I feel that the title carries a weight with it.
Sqposter / MichaelSpam hater, and lover of the spews list. Keep the internet clean
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01-04-2002, 01:22 AM #7Web Hosting Evangelist
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For those of us in the States, as Chicken mentioned it is used more as a corporation identity or formality. It doesnt matter if you are a 1 man/women operation or one with 20 when filing the articles of the organization you need to assign someone this title, so if it were a one man shop then that person would be the CEO, treasurer and so on. Obviously in the one man shop scenario it is kind of pointless to advertise this unless you are trying to boost your own self esteem, however in situations where there are multiple partners this is needed for both management structure and organization structure.
I agree the term CEO may be used a little loosely or out of context many times, to paint a picture of some big succesful company when in fact you are no bigger than the local mom and pop grocery store on the corner..
Just my 2 cents worth..Regards,
Brian P.
Digital X Web[TM], LLC
http://digitalxweb.net
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01-04-2002, 01:33 AM #8Web Hosting Guru
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Originally posted by Tetraboy
What title does a 1 man company give to that 1 man? Owner, CEO, President what?
1) clerk
2) accounting
3) credit and collection
4) salesman
5) office manager
6) public relations
business card should not say anything but advisor ( you could be a client sale's advisor, customer service advisor ... ). Weird title but it works very well. gives the prospect that warm feeling.
if you need to have a title in a public place call yourself the owner. when you say owner, most people will give you alot of respect, most people feer trying to work a living out on there own. Also, nothing worst than meeting a person that gives out the CEO title, and finding out he has 3 employees.
sqposter / michaelSpam hater, and lover of the spews list. Keep the internet clean
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01-04-2002, 01:37 AM #9Web Hosting Master
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The best job title I've seen so far: "Smart Cookie".
Dr. Colin Percival, FreeBSD Security Officer
Online backups for the truly paranoid: http://www.tarsnap.com/
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01-04-2002, 01:38 AM #10Web Hosting Master
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Go original and make a name up. IE: Rackshack and headsurfer/tightwadsurfer etc.
-Jeff Jones
Nublar Cloud Hosting
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01-04-2002, 01:50 AM #11Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by sqposter
if you need to have a title in a public place call yourself the owner. when you say owner, most people will give you alot of respect, most people feer trying to work a living out on there own. Also, nothing worst than meeting a person that gives out the CEO title, and finding out he has 3 employees.
The owner(s) of the company and the person running the company may be different. This is why CEO is perfectly acceptable as it describes exactly what it is supposed to describe.
People get all hung up over this, but I've been the CEO of a small corp. where I owned less of the company than someone else. I was the CEO but I wasn't the owner and claiming to be so could be considered worse than claiming to be the CEO (neither of which I had on cards, etc.).
To me, it doesn't matter and I could care less.
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01-04-2002, 01:55 AM #12cholesterol dependent
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"Chief instigator" - that's my favorite title. I forget where I saw it. It's probably a replacement for CTO (chief technical officer).
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01-04-2002, 02:07 AM #13Web Hosting Master
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Whenever people call im just a lowly support tech aka a plain worker...... Why put a in CEO when you only have a staff of 3 (talking about myself here).
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01-04-2002, 02:10 AM #14Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by sqposter
You know Chicken, I was going to give you a slight roasting for having given a bad explination of a corp stucture titles ( pres. v-pres. sec. treas. are the 4 that run the boat, CEO and pres. are simular but look at...
Don't make's me Tim Greer yo' donkey beeyatch.
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01-04-2002, 02:10 AM #15Web Hosting Master
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I think Owner/Manager is a good name..
-Jeff Jones
Nublar Cloud Hosting
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01-04-2002, 02:36 AM #16Doh!!
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Our corporate structure per say is
Me Jay Silver: CEO, President
Ed Barna: Vice President of Operations
Josh: VP of Technical operations
Dave: Dave Cheif Linux monkey
And we all have people under us which makes for a strong corporate work flow.Jay
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01-04-2002, 04:23 AM #17Junior Guru
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Originally posted by sqposter
I worked on Wall Street in the 80's and 90's ( lot's of fun times I can tell you). I was lucky that I met just about every power broker that made the press back in those days. and nobody had their titles on their cards. you were a player or you were not. Simple. Even the CEO of coke and American Express did not have it on there cards ( hell, I recall meating Larry Tisch, his card just said Larry with a Number).
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01-04-2002, 06:29 AM #18Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by Chicken
those who are the owners or heads of companies who (when someone calls especially), they 'have to check with their boss'
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01-04-2002, 07:52 AM #19Root@Bobcares
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My group the 3 of us directors try to never use these titles. This makes us more accessable. We sit them them, eat with them and spend a lot of time our staff.
I hate the concept of "sir...." My team always refers to me by name. This way I know my team well... Otherwise we both are in masks.. which makes working tough.
Now I know what is happening as I'm just a friend who cares...
We all think like that here at our place.
Have a great day
regards
amarA student once asked his teacher, "Master, what is enlightenment?"
The master replied, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep. When you need care, come to bobcares....
https://bobcares.in
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01-05-2002, 04:49 PM #20Web Hosting Master
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CEO
Titles are vastly overrated....
However, if you want to be technical, the appropriate title for an officer of a corporation to use would be that to which he has been elected by the board of directors and which is set out in the board minutes...and yes, in most states one person can be the board and hold whatever titles he elects himself to hold.
Now...speaking of board....I am bored.