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Thread: When to use CEO

  1. #1
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    Red face 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 / Michael
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  2. #2
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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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    • Chicken

  3. #3
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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.

  4. #4
    Big Kahuna!!!

    Well now I have something new to put on my business cards

    Thanks!!!
    Matt Kelly
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  5. #5
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    What title does a 1 man company give to that 1 man? Owner, CEO, President what?

  6. #6
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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 / Michael
    Spam hater, and lover of the spews list. Keep the internet clean

  7. #7
    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..
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    Brian P.
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  8. #8
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    Originally posted by Tetraboy
    What title does a 1 man company give to that 1 man? Owner, CEO, President what?
    depending on the phone call he is.

    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 / michael
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  9. #9
    The best job title I've seen so far: "Smart Cookie".
    Dr. Colin Percival, FreeBSD Security Officer
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  10. #10
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    Go original and make a name up. IE: Rackshack and headsurfer/tightwadsurfer etc.

  11. #11
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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.
    See 'owner' simply isn't correct. You aren't automatically the owner of a company if you are the CEO, even if there is only one person working there (yourself).

    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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    • Chicken

  12. #12
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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).

  13. #13
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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).

  14. #14
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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...
    Ohh, and I was hoping you wouldn't roast me on this one, as I know you already know all that and I was attempting to be short about it

    Don't make's me Tim Greer yo' donkey beeyatch.
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    • Chicken

  15. #15
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    I think Owner/Manager is a good name..

  16. #16
    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

  17. #17
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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).
    I concur with this fully. While this may take the topic elsewhere, for that I apologize, the "business card" is a competition itself these days (i.e. what it says, the color of paper its on, the grain of paper, the type of paper etc.). Anyhow, the title on my card simply reads "Partner" after my name just as it does in my signature. While we do have an outlined structure utilizing "traditional rank," it's mainly for internal use only.

  18. #18
    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'
    and this usually is their wife

  19. #19
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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
    amar
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    The master replied, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep. When you need care, come to bobcares....
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  20. #20

    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.

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