Episode 78:
Have you ever wondered how to be a good CEO? Starting your own functional medicine practice seems daunting enough, but now you actually have to run the business? Luckily, Trey Taylor knows what it’s like to be thrust into being a CEO. Today, he shares:
- How to be a good CEO
- How to hire people who fit well into your company
- The importance of having a succession plan
- How to delegate as a leader
- Why transparency with your team is essential
How to Be a Good CEO
Trey Taylor is a CEO, mentor and coach to business owners and other CEOs, and has varied experience in tech, venture capital, real estate, and law. He started his career as a law clerk at WebMD, which he left to pursue a career as a venture capitalist and began working for AOL.
However, life had other plans for him, and, after his father passed suddenly, he returned home to run the family business–a business in which he had no experience and no desire to run. He didn’t know the industry well, nor did he know how to be a good CEO. But it was out of the frying pan and into the fire. Trey knew he couldn’t let his family down, so he stepped up and went on a journey to discover just what a CEO does. His journey led to him gaining the knowledge and confidence to run other businesses and eventually write A CEO Only Does Three Things, a book on being a CEO.
Today, on The FM Shift, Trey joins us to discuss building a successful business and being the best CEO you can be. He shares insights into the keys of being a great leader, creating a fantastic team, and preparing for succession.
What to do as the CEO of a Company
You should always have a succession plan. No matter what profession you’re in, it’s essential to have a plan of what will happen to your company if you’re suddenly not there. It’s not just good for your business, but as the CEO and/or founder, you owe it to the company and the people who would be left behind.
As humans, we don’t want to think about what happens if we’re not around, but just as you have life insurance plans for your family, it’s a moral obligation to have a plan for what happens to your business. Without a succession plan, someone will have to take care of your functional medicine practice–this might be a spouse, child, sibling, or friend–and if stepping into the role of CEO was not part of their plan, it can take a toll.
Everything from not knowing how to run the business to being unable to mourn their loss can cause problems for the company you worked so hard to build. So, no matter how unpleasant it is to think about a world where you’re unavailable to run a business, it’s a duty you have to yourself, those you love, and your patients.
One Key Trait of Great CEOs
As the owner of a business, it’s incredibly easy to get bogged down with tasks. For some, the reason is that there’s nobody available to help. For others, doing everything on your own is second nature. But one thing that all highly successful CEOs have in common is delegation.
As much as we may think we’re good at everything, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. So why not play to your strengths?
Right now, if you’re running your business alone, start taking note of what parts of the business you love and which parts you dread. For the tasks that you don’t enjoy, consider hiring someone to help you complete them. This person doesn’t have to be full-time, but by delegating the job, you free up time, energy, and help improve your mood and create the capacity to focus on other things.
About Trey Taylor
Trey is CEO of Taylor Insurance Services & Managing Director of Trinity | Blue. His experience derives from fields as diverse as technology, venture capital, and commercial real estate. As a keynote speaker, he has addressed attendees at the Human Capital Institute and the Ascend Conference. He holds a bachelors’s degree in history from Emory University and a Juris Doctorate in Tax & Corporate Transactions from Tulane University. He recently published his first book: A CEO Only Does 3 Things. Trey & his wife Sheya are the proud parents of Roy Edward Taylor IV (Ret), and Emmaline.
How to Connect with Trey Taylor:
- Websites:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treytaylor/
- Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/company/taylor-insurance-services/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TreyTaylorCEO
- Link to Book
If you’re looking for more information on building a successful functional medicine practice, check out Episode #44 of The FM Shift, Medical Entrepreneurs: Mastering the Business of Functional Medicine. In this episode, Dr. James Neilson-Watt talks to us about how FM practitioners can build a long-term, sustainable practice and how to run your practice like a business.
About The FM Shift
What if functional medicine became as profitable, rewarding, and stress-free as you expected it to be? The business side of functional medicine doesn’t have to be a GRIND. We can help you discover functional medicine sales mastery and make maximum money without patient resistance.
The FM Shift shows you how to effortlessly attract patients who want what you offer and are willing to pay you what you’re worth without waiting for your practice to magically mature.
