Hacker Bits, April 2016

near insolvency or when the
direction others want you to go
in conflicts with the law or with
what you feel is proper behavior).
It is extremely important
because even though everybody
else may have ideas on what
should be done, the final responsibility
for those decisions
lies with you. In plain English:
it’s your ass on the line when
things go wrong, so do not allow
yourself to be pushed or intimidated
into making decisions
that will come back to haunt you
later.
So if the board tells you that
they want to see you hire more
people to push a project forward
faster but your bank account
does not allow it, secure funding
first, then hire more people.
What you are allowed
to do
As a CEO, you are allowed to
hand in your resignation at any
point in time. Even though you
are allowed to hand in your resignation,
sometimes it is smart
not to.
For instance, if the company
is in hot water and you still have
the ability to make things better
for entities (people, suppliers,
the taxman) the company owes
money to, then you probably
should do so. You hand over
the company to your successor
in the best shape possible with
a clear eye towards discharging
your responsibilities with propriety.
The captain should not
leave the bridge of the ship until
he has done his very best to
save as many lives as possible.
Then and only then does he get
to save his own skin by jumping
overboard.
A weak CEO will throw up
their hands in frustration and
leave when they are needed
most. That in my book is a bad
mark against them. But that
said, nobody can force you to
be CEO of anything. If you are
not comfortable with your role
and feel that you are either not
qualified or no longer able to
function (for instance, due to
board or shareholder pressure),
it is much better to step down
than to make bad decisions or
to continue in a direction that
you are personally not comfortable
with.
If the board or shareholders
want you to go in a direction
that you are not comfortable
with, it is also perfectly ok to
simply tell them you won’t do
it. They may fire you, but that’s
much better than ordering the
company to set course in a way
that does not sit well with you or
that you feel is contrary to good
governance.
As a CEO you are allowed to
bind the company — your signature
will have the power to enter
the company into obligations.
Of course the company will have
to be able to fulfill those obligations.
Examples of the kinds
of obligations you can enter the
company into include contracts
with customers, ordering goods
and services from suppliers,
entering into employment contracts
with employees and so on.
So (taking into account the
ability of the company to perform),
you are free to enter into
contracts with others. Keep in
mind though that some articles
of incorporation put limits on
the freedom of the CEO to enter
into contracts, there may also
be upper limits when it comes
to amounts or certain classes
of decisions. For instance, the
articles of incorporation may
say that the CEO cannot enter
into contractual obligations
exceeding 50K, or there may be
provisions related to relocating
the company, putting liens on
company property (intellectual
or otherwise), starting legal
action and so on without specific
approval of either the board
and/or the shareholders.
A fine point of order here
is that even if you exceed
your authority, the company is
still bound by your signature,
and you may then have a real
problem with the board or the
shareholders (and may even be
liable).
As a CEO you determine the
general direction the company is
headed in and in the ‘org chart,’
your name comes at the top. All
...do not allow yourself to be pushed
or intimidated into making decisions
that will come back to haunt you later.
hacker bits
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