🤔 **对齐是关键：** CEO和投资者需要在价值创造模型上保持一致，确保大家朝着共同目标努力。CEO需要了解投资者的期望和基金动态，并主动寻求对齐。 CEO和投资者之间的对齐至关重要，它可以避免不必要的工作、内部人员流动和资源的错误配置。CEO需要了解投资者的期望和基金动态，并主动寻求对齐，确保双方朝着共同的目标努力。例如，CEO可以主动与投资者沟通，了解投资者对于公司发展的期望，并根据投资者的期望制定公司发展战略。此外，CEO还需要了解基金动态，例如投资者的投资策略、投资组合配置等，以便更好地理解投资者的需求和期望。

🤝 **积极的董事会动态：** 建立一个积极、高效的董事会，通过定期沟通促进董事会成员对公司运营的了解。 积极的董事会动态可以促进CEO和董事会成员之间的沟通和合作，减少不必要的摩擦。CEO应该定期与董事会成员沟通，例如每月举行一次会议，让董事会成员了解公司的最新进展，并及时解决可能出现的问题。此外，CEO应该鼓励高管团队与董事会成员进行互动，让高管团队了解董事会的期望，并积极参与公司决策。

👓 **透明度是最佳政策：** CEO应保持透明的沟通，利用关键绩效指标和数据向董事会和团队展示公司运营情况。 透明度可以增进董事会成员的参与度，并建立信任，从而促进更有效的工作关系和共同解决问题的责任感。CEO可以通过定期向董事会和团队汇报公司运营情况，例如利用关键绩效指标、财务数据等，让大家了解公司现状和未来的发展方向。此外，CEO还需要鼓励团队成员之间进行沟通，建立开放透明的沟通文化。

💪 **人才至上：** CEO需要关注团队成员的技能和能力，并定期评估团队成员的绩效，确保团队成员能够帮助公司实现未来发展目标。 CEO需要根据公司发展阶段和目标，调整团队成员的组成。CEO应该定期评估团队成员的绩效，并根据评估结果调整团队成员的职位或职责。此外，CEO还需要关注董事会成员的技能和能力，确保董事会成员能够为公司提供有效的指导和建议。

🚀 **从错误中学习：** CEO应该从错误中吸取教训，并将其运用到未来的决策中。 CEO在投资过程中难免会犯错误，重要的是要从错误中吸取教训，并将其运用到未来的决策中。CEO可以将自己置于投资者的角度，从更宏观的角度思考问题，从而更有效地实现目标。此外，CEO还可以通过学习其他CEO的经验，避免类似的错误。

One particularly impactful session featured two seasoned CEOs from the Edison portfolio in a panel discussion titled “Think Like an Investor.” Edison believes if we think more like an operator, it will enable more effective value creation for our portfolio companies.  Likewise, our most successful CEOs have found if they intentionally think like an investor, it has the potential to lead to more fruitful outcomes. In this panel, Edison Partner Casey Myers engaged with Al Subbloie (CEO, Budderfly; with four successful exits as Edison CEO and board director) and Amy Kadomatsu (former CEO, Comply) around the importance of CEOs adopting an investor’s perspective to enhance value creation, alignment, and returns. Here are five key takeaways that stemmed from the discussion: 

1. In any company-investor partnership, alignment is key. 

Amy put it plainly: “Everybody has a different perspective on what they want out of the investment.” This is why it is crucial to foster alignment early in the process. Contrary to what you might believe, due diligence isn’t just the onus of the investor. As Al pointed out, CEOs must also seek to understand fund dynamics, expectations at each stage in the life cycle, and the like.  

It is particularly important for CEOs and investors to maintain alignment on the fundamental value creation model throughout the investment lifecycle, so as to ensure that everyone is aiming towards the same “North Star.” Misalignment in this area can lead to unnecessary work, internal churn, and misallocation of precious CEO time and company resources.  

One way to foster alignment and reduce unnecessary friction is to intentionally promote a productive, positive dynamic within your board. At the root of this is effective communication; in most cases, engaging with board members only once per quarter simply doesn’t cut it. Al suggests meeting with board members (either individually or in committee groups) monthly, keeping everyone connected to what is happening in every area of the business and preemptively addressing any issues that may arise. 

Additionally, as Amy put it, it’s important not to “gatekeep” your ELT from your board. Remember that they have these leadership positions for a reason and, ideally, should be able to function as extensions of you. Granting your ELT exposure to the board can lead to greater alignment overall, but requires that your entire C-suite begin to think like investors. 

3. Transparency is the best policy. 

“If you think your company doesn’t know what’s going on, you’re kidding yourself.” Both Al and Amy believe in having transparent communication with their boards and their teams, leveraging KPIs and other data to tell how the company is doing. This serves a few purposes; for one, it allows the board to feel more engaged and thus able to respond more proactively rather than reactively. It builds trust on all fronts, facilitating a more honest and effective working relationship and creating a sense of shared responsibility for problem-solving. Perhaps most importantly, transparency leads to alignment, ensuring that everyone both understands the impact of their role and is working towards common objectives. 

4. (The right) people over everything. 

Thinking like an investor often means making tough decisions about the people involved with your company – those on your board, in your executive leadership team, and even the person in your seat!  

The people who got your company to one stage of growth may not be the same ones to get it to the next. That’s why, as Al said, CEOs must learn to “balance loyalty and performance.” As Amy stated, conducting regular team assessments (using the 9-box grid or some other framework) can help you make difficult decisions when necessary to ensure the right team composition for future growth.  

Similarly, it’s critical to make sure those on your board have the right skill sets and proficiencies needed to take your company to the next level. “Governance is crucial to the success of the firm... it’s not about you, it’s about the company.”  

Prioritizing the right people even extends to which investor you choose to partner with. Beyond the size of the check, it’s important to consider an investment partner’s culture, intellectual capital, and people before you sign a deal.  

5. Mistakes are opportunities to grow. 

Throughout the discussion, Al often referenced challenging times or ‘war stories’ he has experienced over the years as a CEO. Amy had her own fair share of trials as well. What this teaches us is that no investment lifecycle is always “up and to the right.” CEOs are bound to make mistakes – keeping the wrong people in their seats for too long, underutilizing the board, micromanaging their ELT, etc. The key is to use the learnings from these missteps to make better strategic decisions down the line. Putting yourself in the shoes of an investor can help you see the bigger picture and ultimately reach your end goal more efficiently.