Often when we launch our companies, there is virtually no perceptible difference between what’s best for us as entrepreneurial founders and CEOs and what’s best for our businesses. But as a business becomes established, proves itself in the marketplace, and begins to grow, it begins to take on a life of its own. Eventually, the success and potential of every enterprise is determined by an entrepreneur’s ability to separate his or her own needs and desires from what’s best for the business.
You’ll see a great example in this issue of Black Enterprise, where we tell the story of Darrell S. Freeman, who effectively fired himself in order to hire the CEO he believed could take Zycron Inc., the BE100s information technology company he founded, to new levels of growth. An even more powerful example shook the world as we were putting the finishing touches on this issue. Icon Steve Jobs–all but synonymous with Apple, the company he co-founded and led–spent years developing talent and establishing a culture to allow his business to thrive even as he was waging a battle against pancreatic cancer. When disease finally claimed him, Apple continued without missing a beat, introducing the iPhone 4S even as it joined the world in mourning its visionary founder. In fact, that Apple thrives could be the ultimate tribute to Jobs as an entrepreneur.
It takes courage and brutal honesty with yourself to replace yourself as CEO, and even more so to take the steps necessary to ensure that the company you founded will thrive beyond your own lifetime. However, it is our responsibility as business owners to know when to say when, and even more important, to act.
I have personally faced this test of business leadership since launching Black Enterprise as a single-magazine publishing company in 1970. More than 40 years later, the Black Enterprise of today is a totally transformed and still evolving multimedia business, with digital platforms, television shows, and live events added to and integrated with the original print business.
When a business evolves, the founders must evolve, too. You must anticipate that evolution and act accordingly. In the earlier years of Black Enterprise, that meant I had to acquire new skill sets as the business took root, as well as hire and delegate authority to qualified professionals in areas of expertise I neither had nor had a passion for acquiring.
As the company began to expand into new areas, it meant building a more diverse management team and operational structure for the company, as well as grooming talent and creating a succession plan. Eventually, it meant replacing myself as CEO, as I did when I named my eldest son, Earl “Butch†Graves Jr., to that position.(Continued on next page)
Today, it’s fair to say that if I applied to get a job at Black Enterprise with the skills I had 20 years ago, I would probably not be hired. The majority of people who work at BE now were not even born when I founded our magazine. I now see my grandchildren’s peers in the halls of the company. (In fact, two of my grandchildren have worked in the business: Earl
III with our television group, and Kristin with our digital team.) And I couldn’t be more proud, excited, and encouraged, because they are bringing the new ideas, skill sets, talent, and energy that are necessary for Black Enterprise to move forward and serve our Wealth for Life mission for decades to come.If you believe in your company and are passionate about the product or service it provides and the market it serves, it is your responsibility to do what’s best for your business, including succession planning. Success breeds change. Your business will evolve, and the top priority as the CEO must be to evolve with it–even if that means becoming the former CEO. When the time comes, you must know when to say when–and have the courage to act.