Issue #109

The Good Enough CEO Playbook

Perfection looks heroic.

The immaculate strategy deck, the flawless board pack. The CEO who never shows weakness.

In reality, perfection kills companies and careers. It stalls decisions, it burns people out, and it leaves leaders sitting in their office at 2 a.m. convinced they’re failing.

I’ve spent four decades watching Fortune 500 CEOs and founders up close. The ones who last aren’t perfect and the ones who try to be perfect, don't last.

They’re disciplined enough to know when something is “good enough” to move, and ruthless enough to keep momentum alive.

Momentum, not polish, is what keeps companies breathing.

Momentum Beats Perfection Every Time

The “Good Enough” CEO is not sloppy. They don’t wave half-baked work through. They set a standard, hold people to it, then move on.

The line is clear: enough quality to keep credibility, enough speed to keep the flywheel turning.

Here’s how the best get that balance right.

Predictable Sales Growth

Revenue chaos kills trust. When the quarter depends on one star rep’s mood, everyone panics. Predictability is built by systems, not superheroes.

One client relied on two stars. One had a temper, the other a gambling habit. Growth swung like a yo-yo. Once the CEO introduced hiring scorecards, built onboarding around the buyer journey, and ran weekly pipeline reviews, the chaos stopped.

The stars left (with a little encouragement). The business got stronger.

Good Enough CEOs build processes so the numbers are boringly reliable.

Three great strategies to unlock profitable growth here.

Personal Effectiveness

A CEO’s diary shows what really matters. If it’s crammed with firefighting, strategy never happens.

Perfectionists say they’ll “make time” later. They never do.

A founder I worked with was had credibility issues with his board. He was always late with board packs and they thought he was trying to hide things.

He claimed he was just too busy. The fix was simple, he blocked Friday mornings for prep, no exceptions.

Suddenly, he turned up confident, the board trusted him again, and the company stopped lurching from panic to panic.

Good Enough CEOs don’t “find time.” They protect it with barbed wire.

Managing the Board

A board meeting can destroy a CEO if it’s just an update session. Directors default to interrogation. Everyone leaves bruised and frustrated.

One client flipped the script: he sent pre-reads out 48 hours early, the meeting time was used only for two strategic questions.

The board could now stop playing inquisitor and start acting like an ally with creative inputs.

Good Enough CEOs design the board’s role. They don’t sit there waiting to be judged.

Hiring Ahead of the Curve

The stage-fit of a new hire beats prestige. Hire a superstar too early, and you’ll both regret it.

I’ve seen a growth company bring in a multinational COO who was brilliant at managing empires but useless when armed with just a spreadsheet and one junior.

Six months later, gone.

Time wasted, confidence dented.

Good Enough CEOs hire for the next 12 months, not for the vanity of a press release.

Find out why it really is all about your people, click here.

Driving Accountability

Without rhythm, accountability dies. A CEO I worked with ran “catch-ups” that always drifted into waffle.

Nobody owned anything, deadlines slipped, blame spread.

Once he fixed a proper agenda (metrics, commitments, blockers) the culture shifted. Progress accelerated, without the need for shouting.

Good Enough CEOs make accountability mechanical.

Clarity in Proposition

If it takes more than five seconds to explain what you do as a company, you’re invisible.

A logistics client of mine talked about “next-generation fulfilment solutions.” Prospects glazed over.

They switched to “we cut warehouse costs by 20%.” Their sales team were in demand again.

Good Enough CEOs force clarity until even the intern can say it in one breath.

Here's more about understanding value based selling, click here.

Difficult Conversations

Delay creates rot. A toxic senior manager was left alone for six months because the CEO didn’t want to cause upset.

By the time he took any action, half of his week was spent dealing with the fall out from this manager’s bullying.

He never did deal with the person properly, he lost two top performers instead (I was one of them).

Good Enough CEOs act inside 72 hours. Not cruelly, just clearly.

Fundraising

Smart CEOs write the fundraising story a year before they raise. They track the numbers that prove it.

By the time they walk into the room to pitch, the evidence is already on the table.

Good Enough CEOs don’t wing it with a last-minute deck, trying to invent their story to fit their slides.

Strategy

A slogan is not a strategy. “Be the best” is a poster for the company kitchen, not a mission statement. Strategy is a map: goals, trade-offs, actions.

I saw a manufacturing CEO rally thousands around one aim: become the safest operator in the industry. The strategy was clear; training, kit, reporting, culture.

Everyone knew where they fit.

Good Enough CEOs strip strategy down to a single core goal, then hammer it until people finally believe it.

In Conclusion

Perfection stalls. “Good enough” moves. That’s the difference between companies that scale and companies that stall.

A Good Enough CEO sets the standard, hits it, and moves on. They forgive themselves for being human.

They build a culture where progress counts more than polish.

That’s how you keep momentum alive. And momentum is the sign of a healthy company.

A complete set of 36 big, beautiful slides for this topic are available - click link below to download the PDF.

​The Good Enough CEO- Full Presentation Deck.pdf​

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