Maverick Mastery®

The CEO solution

CEOs and business owners can have a difficult time when it comes to running their own business, despite the fact that they are very talented and successful at what they do. This is often due to their ‘maverick nature’.

Judith Germain defines ‘Maverick’ as being wilfully independent. This independence can be twofold either:

• a maverick personality
• a maverick trait (tendency)
  

A maverick personality is one where they are wilfully independent all the time and in all circumstances. They are keen to make their mark and do things their way and often blaze innovation and lateral thinking to the projects and problems that they are working on. They often exasperate the people around them and peers can feel that they can’t keep up or hurt if an objective comment from a maverick is delivered in their usual blunt and brutally honest way.

A maverick trait or tendency is when the CEO or business owner is wilfully independent in their business dealings only. When they are running their business they do things in a way that is different to the rest of their industry, they take risks that other CEOs shirk at, and push harder and seek challenges that others feel are ‘insane’.

They are generally successful at what they do but their impatience and impulsiveness often keep them off track. When mavericks reach a level of success they often get bored seek challenges elsewhere until their business suffers. It is at that point that they return to their business to rescue it.

Maverick CEOs and business owners are often:

• easily distracted with working in their business and spend no time working on the business
• are without a trusted advisor
• are busy not focused
• are impatient and impulsive
• are offhand and brutally honest inappropriately

It is by enabling CEOs and business owners to take this wilful independence to its most positive outcomes that can make a strategic and substantial difference to the profitability of a company and the success of the individual. True maverick organisations like Semco and individuals like John F Kennedy make a lasting difference – mainly because they strived to achieve a level of mastery that was beyond their peers.

Mavericks are truly talented individuals and are able to drag the world forward with their insights and abilities.

These gifted individuals are often struggling to get the best out of their talent, frequently not fitting into a world of constraints and conformity. When mavericks are not being recognised for their expertise this can lead to frustration and a cycle of dissatisfaction. This may manifest itself in destructive behaviour or talent opt out. Talent opt out is when an individual deliberately decides to withdraw their extraordinary skills and do the bare minimum to get by.

Whilst a maverick’s bare minimum is often the same standard as other people’s best the organisation nevertheless losses the ability to perform to a greater standard.

Eventually the maverick either opts out in a passive or destructive way or leaves the organisation deciding to try their luck elsewhere or set up their own business.

It is often at this point that the Maverick becomes an entrepreneur where their ability to harness their maverickism determines their ability to survive in business.

CEOs that run companies that harness and demonstrate maverickism remain profitable and ahead of their competition. They have a challenged and challenging workforce working to improve their performance and enjoy their time doing so.

What is Mastery?

Mastery is when you have the ability to blend your knowledge and your skills in a focused way to achieve your goal. You cannot be a master by theoretical knowledge alone you must be able to put that knowledge into practice so that you can rely on your mastered talent, time and time again. True mastery only occurs when you are able to do this subconsciously, without thinking.

To be a master takes time and effort to achieve a level of expertise and excellence but to choose to resist striving for mastery can leave you vulnerable. When given the choice clients do not buy from those that have not mastered their profession and employers ‘downsize and dispose’ of those that have talents that can be replicated easily. To survive now, you need to be talented and different – and this is why Maverick Mastery^® is all important.

Maverick Mastery^® is about being talented and different – blended knowledge and skills for successful business. Please click on ‘recent posts’ to find out more.

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