The document discusses various leadership scenarios and decisions faced by CEOs, illustrating their impact on businesses and employees. Examples include Ben Horowitz's choice to support an employee with cancer, Jeff Bezos's unique approach to company culture, and Patrick Doyle's public apology at Domino's. It emphasizes the importance of prioritizing customer relations, hands-on involvement, and acknowledging one's limitations while making decisive choices.

1. “…Do you know what
leadership means?
It means the person in
charge get second-
guessed by every clever
little twat with a mouth.
But, when he starts
second-guessing himself,
that’s the end for him.
For the clever little twats.
For everyone…”
- SER ALLISER THORNE
Game of Thrones

2. WWCDWhat Would
A CEO Do?
Heather Russell
CEO, Rinkya.com
@HeatherARussell

3. #1. People vs Biz
• 60 days of runway, your
largest customer is going
to drop you.
• To convince them not to,
you acquire their favorite
product company.
• You have to let the new
CEO go, but he tells you
that he was just
diagnosed with brain
cancer.

4. What do you do?
A) Get rid of him (with
advice from lawyers).
Emotion doesn’t make you
money.
B) Keep him at a cost of
$200K that you can’t really
afford.

5. What do you do?What Happened Next?
• This CEO decided to pay
for the health costs and
find the money ($200K)
in their budget.
• 15 months later he dies
• the wife wrote thanking
him and to say that her
and the family were
saved from total despair.
A) Get rid of him (with
advice from lawyers).
Emotion doesn’t make you
money.
B) Keep him at a cost of
$200K that you can’t really
afford.
B) Keep him at a cost of
$200K that you can’t really
afford.

6. Who was it?
• Ben Horowitz
Co-founder, Andreessen
Horowitz.
• Sold his company
(OpsWare) for $1.6bn
“I did it, because I
knew what desperation
was like…”

7. .@heatherarussell As a
CEO, you will truly
understand the meaning
of desperation. cc
@bhorowitz #sparkme
#whatwouldaCEOdo

8. #2. Original vs. Copy Cat
• You start your company in the height of the dot.com boom.
• Google is handing out free lunches, Apple is giving people iPhones.
• You are struggling in the valley, but need to be noticed

9. What do you do?
A) Copy what is proven to be a successful company culture
B) Look at your budget and find a happy medium between
what they are doing and what you can afford
C) Do what you want, ignore the other guys

10. What do you do?
What Happened Next?
• This CEO decided to ignore what everyone else was doing
• Instead, made a statement by taking doors from a home
improvement store, screwing on wooden legs and making them
desks. He still does this.
A) Copy what is proven to be a successful company culture
B) Look at your budget and find a happy medium between
what they are doing and what you can afford
C) Do what you want, ignore the other guysC) Do what you want, ignore the other guys

11. Who was it?
• Jeff Bezos of Amazon
“It's very important at
Amazon.com to make
sure that we're spending
money on things that
matter to customers,”

12. .@heatherarussell
Keeping it real, using
drones to tell your
story. @amazon
#JeffBezos #sparkme
@whatwouldaCEOdo

13. #3. Customers
• You have an eCommerce
company
• You using 3rd party
logistics & vendors to
fulfill and deliver orders
• They keep screwing up,
mixing up orders, being
late, damaging deliveries

14. A) Find another 3rd party
company
What do you do?
C) Go to the warehouse
everyday and manage
them yourself until they
get it right
B) Do your own logistics

15. What Happened Next?
• This CEO decided to
build warehouses and
do their own logistics
What do you do?
A) Find another 3rd party
company
C) Go to the warehouse
everyday and manage
them
B) Do your own logistics

16. Who was it?
• Tony Hsieh
Founder of Zappos
• Sold his company to
Amazon for $1.2bn
“Trusting that a
third party would
care about our
customers as much
as we did was one
of our biggest
mistakes”

17. .@heatherarussell If
your customers aren’t
your #1 priority, pack it
up and go home
@tonyhsieh #sparkme
#whatwouldaCEOdo

18. #4. Ownership
• A few of your employees
upload a YouTube video
doing some disgusting
acts to the products
your company sells.
• It goes viral

19. A) Be honest and apologize
What do you do?
B) Hire a PR team to do
damage control
C) You are a huge corporation,
just ignore, your product is
popular and people will forget

20. What Happened Next?
• Uploaded his own
YouTube video apology
explaining that the
employees would also
be arrested. Got over 2
million views.
What do you do?
A) Be honest and apologize
B) Hire a PR team to do
damage control
C) You are a huge corporation,
just ignore, your product is
popular and people will forget
A) Be honest and apologize

21. Who was it?
• Patrick Doyle
CEO of Domino’s Pizza
“All of these things are
about showing
(customers) that we’re
truly listening, taking
feedback and making
changes”

22. .@heatherarussell If you
screw up, admit it, get
on your knees & say
sorry. We’ve all been
there #jpn <3
@dominos #sparkme
#whatwouldaCEOdo

23. • You’re bootstrapping.
Just started
• Staff is working hard.
Got some new contracts
that are coming into the
office.
• The office looks like
crap. But no money to
redecorate.
#5. Hands-on

24. A) Tell your overworked
staff they have to help
clean
What do you do?
B) Take care of it yourself
C) Do nothing, you are a
start-up, everyone will
understand

25. What Happened Next?
• Worked till 5am before
the staff came in,
painted the entire office
so they could feel
comfortable and proud
about their working
environment when they
came in and when
anyone came to visit.
What do you do?
A) Tell your overworked
staff they have to help
clean
B) Take care of it yourself
C) Do nothing, you are a
start-up, everyone will
understand
B) Take care of it yourself

26. Who was it?
• Heather Russell
CEO of Rinkya
“You should be
prepared to clean
toilets as a CEO.
Whatever it takes to
get to the next level &
make your employees
feel like you’re in the
trenches with them.”

27. .@heatherarussell
Prepare to clean toilets
as a CEO. Make your
employees feel like
you’re in the trenches
w/ them @rinkya
#sparkme

28. #6. Know your
Customers
• You are a start-up with a
new product just
launched.
• You need users.
• You need to understand
what people like/don’t
like about your product

29. A) Hire a PR firm
What do you do?
B) Post in a forum you are a
member of to get people’s
reactions
C) Buy Google Ads
D) Stand out on the street
and get people to look at your
app.

30. What Happened Next?
• This CEO was a member
of a popular travel
forum where he knew
the members well and
was in the community.
He posted asking what
people thought about
his app and how he
could improve it.
What do you do?
A) Hire a PR firm
B) Post in a forum you are a
member of to get people’s
reactions
C) Buy Google Ads
D) Stand out on the street
and get people to look at your
app.
B) Post in a forum you are a
member of to get people’s
reactions

31. Who was it?
• Jan Koum
Co-Founder of
WhatsApp
"Focus on simplicity,
listen to your
customers and iterate
if you fail."

32. .@heatherarussell Seed
users by being one of
them. Start with a
community you’re a
part of & know.
@jankoum #sparkme
#whatwouldaCEOdo

33. #7. Know your Limitations
• You are 20 years old and have a hot new start-up that’s
growing.
• You have no experience managing a big company.

34. What do you do?
A) Hire a CEO
B) Learn while you go along.
That’s how CEOs get made
C) Make someone internal
the CEO

35. What Happened Next?
• These two very famous
co-founders hired a
technology veteran to
run the company and
give them “Parental
supervision”.
What do you do?
A) Hire a CEO
B) Learn while you go along.
That’s how CEOs get made
C) Make someone internal
the CEO
A) Hire a CEO

36. Who was it?
• Larry Page and Sergey
Brin hired Eric Schmidt
to be CEO of Google
”Always hire
smarter people."

37. .@heatherarussell The
CEO doesn’t have to be
the smartest, just the
one who finds the
smart people.
@ericschmidt #sparkme
#whatwouldaCEOdo

38. What
Happens
When
Your
Decision
is Wrong?
• Everyone makes bad
decisions
• The only way to get good
at it is to make them a lot
• Be decisive
• Explain and prepare
• As the CEO, ALWAYS take
responsibility immediately

39. Follow me @HeatherARussell
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