10 Facets of a CEO

www.yorefoundation.com Charles “CZA” Sweet II

 10 Facets of a CEO

10 Facets of a CEO
Written by Charles “CZA” Sweet II

Contents
Prologue ...................................................................................... 3

Facet One: Get Your Mind Correct .............................................. 5

Facet Two: Create Your Persona ............................................... 10

Facet Three: Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan ....................... 14

Facet Four: The Only “I” in “Team” is “W”I”N” ......................... 19

Facet Five: Keep Your Options Open ......................................... 21

Facet Six: Be Cool, Baby ............................................................. 23

Facet Seven: Everyone Can Be Anyone ..................................... 25

Facet Eight: The Game Don't Wait ............................................ 26

Facet Nine: Indians Make Better Chiefs .................................... 28

Facet Ten: 360 Degrees of Game .............................................. 29

Epilogue: Words from a CEO ..................................................... 34

Thank You’s................................................................................ 35

About the Author ...................................................................... 35

©2009 CZA Industries. All Rights Reserved.

www.yorefoundation.com Charles “CZA” Sweet II

 10 Facets of a CEO

Prologue

What IS a CEO? And Can YOU Become One?

In most cases, a CEO stands for Chief Executive Officer and they are

at the forefront of a company making the big decisions. They aren't

always the face of the company but they most always have a vote and

they're considered "the boss".

In our case, CEO stands for a couple different things: namely

Conquer Every Obstacle and Consider Every Opportunity. I'm sure

with a little thought you can come up with your own version of what

CEO means to you, but for this exercise we'll keep it simple. A CEO is

a man or woman who is focused on achieving their goals and will let

nothing stand in their way. A CEO understands that while life isn't a

game, it can be played very much like chess with the correct mind state.

We'll get more into that later on.

What you hold in your hands is more than just another book about

rules that you should follow in order to "up your game" or "help

yourself be better". This is a testament to the code of conduct that many

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 10 Facets of a CEO

of the people you idolize follow. Don't just take my word for it, after

you finish reading this; see how much of it applies to the Will Smiths,

Donald Trumps and Jay-Zs of the world. I bet you find every facet

listed present in them in spades.

How I came to acquire these ten "facets" is by a lot of research, some

common sense and a keen interest in upgrading not only myself, but the

people and environment around me. I call them “facets” because I view

myself and other successful people with similar backgrounds like

diamonds. In the beginning a diamond is nothing but a lump of coal but

over time and with other components the coal evolves into an object of

desire and appreciation. Even if you're in the most desolate part of the

ghetto RIGHT NOW, you should view yourself the same way. Hope is

but a thought away and results are only an executed plan from fruition.

True, I could've tried for a book deal with this evolutionary (notice I

said evolutionary, not revolutionary) idea, but I'd rather just pass it to

the next man and keep it moving. Some things aren't about money

(Although good karma can bring that). Besides, the easiest way for me

to do this was by distributing a free eBook, and I hope that you all

benefit from these facets as much as I have.

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 10 Facets of a CEO

There isn't a best way to read this: go from top to bottom, bottom to

top or just view the individual quality that you need to brush up on. It's

all up to you how you do it. What I hope most take away from this is

that there shouldn't be a point in your life where you're not looking to

upgrade yourself and your perspective. You stop learning; you stop

growing.

That's it for the introduction. Now let's get down to business…

Facet One: Get Your Mind Correct

Before you can fully become a CEO, you have to realize that there

are certain ideals that you have to embrace. I'm not saying that you

have to be a staunch supporter of everything I'm about to list, but you

should be aware enough of each to incorporate the good and do away

with the bad.

A very good book to pick up on this is called the Hagakure. If you

remember that movie from long ago starring Forrest Whitaker called

Ghost Dog but Whitaker's character read that book constantly. The

book speaks heavily on the mind state of a samurai and how one should

conduct himself.

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 10 Facets of a CEO

One "rule" that I adopted from the book was about how a samurai

cannot hope to find a complete master in one man and instead should

seek admirable qualities of different masters to model themselves after.

Russell Simmons was the top of my list, the quality I take from him is

his vision--from a dorm room came the Def Jam empire spanning

records, movies, video games and clothing. He is considered by many

to be the "godfather" or hip hop; I couldn't agree more.

Next on my list is Ray Charles. The reason I chose him isn't because

of what he did musically or his attitude (one of the first real instances

of "swagger" in my eyes) but the obstacles he overcame. I can imagine

being blind is a death knell for many, but for him it became a source of

power. It forced him to think outside of the box and use what he had to

do what he wanted to do. His determination is a fierce one.

Oprah Winfrey made the list due to her business savvy. Coming from

very close to nothing to becoming the first female billionaire? You

can't do that without a well defined grind and trust me, she could teach

a class on the subject. (Although I heard that she is the subject of a

class somewhere.)

Bill Cosby is there too. I know a lot of you are probably thinking,

"Why him? He doesn't approve of what's going on in America,

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especially dealing with black men." I'm right there with you in not

necessarily digging too much on his viewpoints but I included him

because he HAS views that he believes in. He represents to me

something that has been missing in a lot of our day-to-day lives:

morality and character.

Sure, the elder generation comes across at times a bit preachy and/or

seeming to sit proudly on their high horse but I understand why he does

it. He's been trying for years to move the generations of Cosby

Show watchers in a more positive and tight nit direction to no avail.

You might've thought that his show was just a show but it had deeper

levels that were built to sink in once you got older. He wanted to show

a family that wasn't dysfunctional and broken. He wanted to show that

both parents could be married and happy and live productive lives that

would influence their children to be such.

As time progressed he included elements that reflected what was

happening within the culture like teen pregnancy and disease and the

ways he saw to get through them.

Jay-Z is the next on my list because of his "boss" persona. When he

came out in '96 with Reasonable Doubt, he wasn't anything like he is

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today. I'm sure he had an idea of what he wanted to do then, but after

he got on, REALLY got on, he saw what was possible for him to

achieve and he got to it.

Now he's so widely respected (and not just in the hip hop community)

that he can do a crossover album with Linkin Park or go on tour with

Coldplay without fear of losing his fan base. In interviews now, he has

regality about himself that I admire. The way he conducts himself is of

an echelon above the regular guy (at least in front of cameras) and

that's why he gets treated so respectfully.

The last (but not least) person on my list is my father, Charles Sweet,

Sr. The reason I added him to the list is because of his honesty. In our

relationship, I can't think of any one time that he wasn't truthful with

me. Albeit we didn't have a deep father/son bond because he was

always on the road as a truck driver and growing up I was rebellious as

hell (not to mention a bit aloof) but as I entered into adulthood I saw us

becoming closer. He's sincere and now I get to call him "pops" like

Lamont from Sanford and Son. (Mom, you're in there too. You're the

reason I have such a strong "grind" mentality!)

Let's recap.

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Russell Simmons- Vision. He understands the grand scheme of what he

wants and builds his roads to get there.

Ray Charles- Determination. If he can get past a physical handicap to

become one of the most influential people in the world, what have I got

to cry about?

Oprah Winfrey- Business Savvy. From the most modest beginnings to

a world-wide icon proves that you can do whatever you want if you

work at it.

Bill Cosby- Morality. Bill has been instilling good family values for

years through his programming and comedy. While the flesh may fail,

the heart will prevail. (Corny, I know!)

Jay-Z- Executive Persona. Jay is a force to be reckoned with and his

game is just so tight. From his new wifey Beyonce to the causes he

endorses; the man understands his worth and I'm trying to get on his

level.

Charles Sweet, Sr. - Honesty. Got to give it up to my benefactor. He

wasn't always there but he tried and that's good enough for me.

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 10 Facets of a CEO

With these six people I have a complete model to apply myself to in

order to "complete" myself. You should come up with your own list

and don't be afraid to pick people apart for the good parts. Keep in

mind that you only want good attributes and the bad ones will undo all

of the hard work you're putting towards this.

Moving on, the next quality of a CEO is...

Facet Two: Create Your Persona

Especially in today's hip hop influenced climate do you see the word

“swagger” or “swag” thrown around generally in song lyrics and in

conversation without alluding to what it really is or does. From Jim

Jones to Kanye West we hear about it in abundance.

I'm going to give you my own definition, and being real with y'all, it's

a pretty lame description because the majority of the people claiming

they have it really don't to me. Objects don't give you "swag"; YOU

give you "swag".

Objects simply accessorize your swag...you could look like a bum

fresh off the street and be worth millions! What you do is ultimately

more important than what you say and just like most "baller rappers",

they're in short supply or both money and character. I personally don't

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even like the words "swag" or "swagger" because it sounds juvenile

and as grown people, we should aspire to go up rather than return to our

infancy.

Alright, alright, enough top 40 rapper bashing.

When I say "create your persona" what I mean is to create the YOU

that you want the world to see including physical appearance, style of

dress, mannerisms, how you talk--everything. When you do that

successfully, you can control your perception of yourself and how

others see you up to a point. (The other points being action and speech-

wise.)

The best way to go about this is to sit yourself down with a pen and

pad (or laptop like I did) and take inventory of what you have now,

what you want for yourself in the future and the avenues necessary to

get there.

We can break down that daunting task as follows:

Physical Attributes: (height, weight, physical build)

Mental Attributes: (smarts and lack thereof)

Background: (Did you grow up in the hood or in middle suburbia.)

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Preferred Style of Dress: (Are you in 3 piece suits or some Japanese

denim and Bapestas.)

Available Means: (trust fund babies or a hard luck case)

Preferred Profession: (what are you going to become?)

With these guidelines you can begin to see where you are right now

versus where you're trying to be. Are you tall? Short? Skinny? “Big

Boned”? Do you have freckles or blemishes? Do you wear glasses?

I need to you to understand that even though these factors probably

weighed heavily on you growing up, they're meaningless if you know

how to work it correctly. The YOU of the future isn't confined to the

roles people put you in. You define yourself.

I was born with extremely poor eyesight requiring the famed “coke

bottle” glasses that just wasn't fly to the ladies. In middle school I got

teased endlessly but I had hope. As I got older, I made good with the

idea that my charm wasn't in the looks department (I'm no Quasimodo

but I'm not Shemar either) but I had no problems in making the ladies

laugh. So I got play that way. Long story short is that if you believe

better, you can achieve better.

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You've got a fix on the present YOU, right? Okay, times to do the

exact same thing again only this time focus on the future you and

imagine that you have already done away with the “coke bottles” and

used the right amount of Noxema to clear your blemishes.

Congratulations, you've already taken your first proactive step towards

your “persona”.

After you have the image of the future you, draw out a map on how to

get there. If you need better clothes, get better clothes. If you want a

better car, write down a plan to get that car. (Although I should say that

the MTV lifestyle isn't really reflective of the world at large.) No

matter what it is you need to get you to the future you, obstacles are

meant to get over.

One thing to remember though, the new you should be a reflection of

your best qualities, but upgraded. In this transition, try to do away with

the bad qualities as much as possible because, in the long run it won't

further your cause. Look back at Facet One, particularly the section

dealing with utilizing the various qualities of your chosen masters and

soak up the good game they have to give!

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Facet Three: Plan Your Work & Work Your

Plan

Travelers seldom go places they've never been without a roadmap

giving them some idea of where they're going so why should you fly by

the seat of your pants with your prospective future? You can't name one

successful person who just did whatever and got to where they are.

That's because when you plan, you're fostering an attitude of "I can do

it" about yourself that spreads to what you're doing and is the best kind

of influence you can receive.

You should consider the idea of actually coming up with that

roadmap being productive in itself because you're being proactive in

the foundation of your future. Some might say “I hate planning” or “It's

too much work” but like a very intelligent man told me, what good is

having something if you don't work hard for it? Besides having the due

appreciation for the hard work you put in, it should iron out any

inconsistencies or doubts you may have.

When setting out to make a plan, it's best (or at least in my case) to

visualize the end result first then pull out the old pen and pad. If you're

a computer savvy cat (which I hope you are) then pull out Word or

Notepad. Begin by brainstorming. Don't worry about putting anything

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in order or making it “make sense” yet--just let the ideas run free. Once

the well's run dry, put the pen down or close out the program. Why,

when you're on a roll, you ask? Because, for one, you could probably

do with a rest and, secondly, you want to clear your mind of the clutter

that it was a few moments ago.

After a break from the brainstorming trip, (ranging from a few

minutes to a few days) come back to what you wrote and look at it

more in detail. What doesn't fit here? What can you do immediately

versus later on with more resources? Ask yourself these questions to

get an idea of what is more probable to accomplish in the near future.

Here's a secret that was passed down to me: Success brings more

success. Failure brings more failure. The idea is to set yourself up for

success early on so that you can obtain the correct mindset when you

approach anything.

Once you've discarded what didn't fit into the equation and looked

realistically at what you can do it's time to put everything left in order

from what you can do this very moment to what will take you

considerable time to get done. Don't worry about trying to finish

everything in your list in a short amount of time because it won't

happen. Also, understand that because life isn't a set route but a

continuous journey the idea that you will get every single thing on your
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list done exactly in that order or at all is unlikely. (We'll talk about that

later in Facet Five: Keep Your Options Open)

Okay, so now you have a living, breathing idea of what it is that you

want to do with yourself, pat yourself on the back. Homie, you're ahead

of 98% of the game right now! Sounds unbelievable, right? It's true.

The majority of people simply wander around like sheep through life

doing what they were programmed to do instead of what THEY want to

do. CEO's aren't zombie wage slaves; we're men and women who

CHOOSE their destinies and follow their own drums. Do you really

want to be Al Bundy? Me either.

Your general overview should look something like this:

My Life Goals

1. Upgrade my living situation.

2. Improve my wardrobe to include trendy business attire.

3. Get a better car.

4. Look for business avenues to get into.

This sample list shows you the way I did it. (Not with the same goals,

mind you.) Go ahead and copy my formula if you think it'll work for

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you, but if it doesn't, it will at least give you an idea of how to start it

off with. Pretty simple, eh?

Now you take it a step further:

My Life Goals

1. Upgrade my living situation.

1.1 Research new apts. in my preferred area and price range.

2. Improve my wardrobe to include trendy business attire.

2.1 Go check out neighborhood suit shops and malls for best deals.

3. Get a better car.

3.1 See what specials are running at the local car dealer.

4. Look for business avenues to get into.

1. Google setting up a corporation.

Like I was saying, this is a very basic set up, but it'll give you an idea

of the process needed to plot out what you need to get done. You can

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continue to define each task into smaller and smaller objectives until

it's finished. Tack up the page over your bed so that it's the first thing

you see in the morning or set up a reminder to look at it when you

punch in at the job. Reinforcing those fundamental goals until you

complete them is the only way you'll stay on it. Do the steps even if

they are monotonous and boring because when you don't want to is

exactly when you SHOULD be doing it.

After your planning stage is complete, the only thing left to do is

doing it. The actuality of you doing exactly as you planned is

rewarding, believe me. Knowing that you are directly affecting your

future is enough for me to get out of bed in the morning.

After a while, it will be for you too. Work a 9-5, have a girlfriend and

try to kick it with your boys while upgrading yourself? Seems like

you're crazy busy, doesn't it? Time to crack open that day planner! You

can get one pretty cheaply from the corner dollar store or you can use

the one that comes with your Microsoft Office but either way, keeping

a day planner is a good idea if you want to keep track of your

priorities. Each day, try to do something beneficial to your future and

mark it off the list. Progress is the by far the best motivation and seeing

all those check marks by the things you've done will keep you going.

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Since you have how to plan and execute squared away, let's move on

to…

Facet Four: The Only “I” in “Team” is “W”I”N”

That's right. That old adage that people kept saying when you were a

kid is actually true. There's no “I” in “TEAM” and a team is exactly

what you need, even if you plan to do everything yourself. I was once

like many others, believing that I didn't need anyone else to help me

attain success. After doing some research, I came across the fact that

there were many areas that I didn't have a clue about and if I wanted to

incorporate them into my plans, I needed help.

In my case, I knew how to do some html, but not enough to set up my

website the way I wanted it. I knew how to set up a DBA (Doing

Business As) business alias but I didn't know how to incorporate. I

knew how to write proficiently and lead a team, but I didn't have a team

to lead. See what I'm saying? You as a person can mentally and

physically, only go so far before you need to enlist the talents of others

just as and even more qualified than you. No more so than in the

African American culture, my own culture, do we see the “Crab in a

bucket” mentality that simply doesn't work well in the business world.

Generals need captains who need troops, there's just no way around it.

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Say for example that you want to start up a car detailing business. Look

at it objectively and you'll see that you need cleaning supplies,

employees to use those supplies and a place to detail the vehicles at.

This builds on the last chapter and don't worry too much about the

delegation of duties if you believe them capable of doing it. There are

plenty of self-help books out there that deal with management and

leadership but I'll save you the time and effort of reading them: to be an

effective leader, you must make your follows see your grand vision.

Some might be more swayed by the money they can bring in, but in the

beginning, there isn't going to be a lot of that floating around and later

on, a bigger wallet might take them away. Making them see your dream

and adopt it as their own will net you a lifetime of loyalty.

You don't have to have “employees” if you don't want them, but

people who assist you in various tasks that you can't do yourself. For

me, I have a tech guy I call on, a girlfriend/ secretary and a group of

writers that help with the articles. I also have an agent that looks after

my corporation and a DJ that does my mixtapes. Those are all of the

regular players that I use but I'm sure that as the business grows, so will

my need and so will the people I contact. I deal with artists, managers,

publicists, DJs, publicists and a host of others at any given time.

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I can't stress the importance of maintaining contacts once you met

them and not burning bridges. I've done that in the past and missed out

on some events that could've sped things along quicker. Relationships

are a very fragile thing and should be nurtured accordingly. Constantly

evaluate how a particular person is benefitting your situation and keep

those that help a lot close. That doesn't mean forget about everyone

else, because you might get an update that could really do something

for you even though it's been some time since you last spoke to them.

Being a hermit won't get you anywhere either. Go out and get about

to see what's going on outside your area and mingle! You never know

what and or who someone knows. A good place to pick up game and a

few business cards is at book stores. You can often go there and read up

on different subjects that may not pertain to your operation, but you can

apply it. You can also run into like-minded people that you can build

with.

I think you're good on team building so we'll move on to…

Facet Five: Keep Your Options Open

As much as we might want to stick to our original plans on paper, life

doesn't care too much about what we want at times. In order to

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maximize your life and get the most out of it, you should learn early on

to keep your options open. Go for what you want but never let an

opportunity pass by without at least a look. You never know what

could be better for you in the long run.

Let me use myself as an example. When I was in college (back in '03)

I was all about graduating and using my skills to get on with a major

hip hop publication. After graduation, I got on with a local magazine

that was just about to go national. I started out freelancing with them,

being paid peanuts, but I was bound and determined to pay my dues. It

took me about a year, but not only was I an editor, but a staff one at

that. That's when my perspective began to shift.

I left the magazine for a chance to work with the "Bible of Hip Hop"

and had to start back at the bottom...I wasn't really feeling that, but I

went from being the big fish in a small pond to a small fish in an ocean

so I did what I had to. Wasn't too long before I started writing for the

blog and was about to get down with the print side. Long story short--a

bunch of things happened and we parted ways.

I could've been salty at all the hard work I put in and the little return I

got, but that'd be a wasted effort. I learned a lot, made a lot of contacts

but even more I saw that working at someone else's joint wasn't for me.

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I grew out of that phase and that's what prompted me to head elsewhere

with my journalistic endeavors.

If I hadn't kept my options open, I would've been chasing that same

dream now and while I might've been a little up the ladder at someone

else's establishment, I don't think I'd be that content there.

Even if you do successfully get what you're after, it wouldn't hurt to

keep your thumb on other things that interest you and might be

profitable. Richard Branson (the Virgin Records tycoon) branched out

from the record company to airlines to eventually mobile phones. If he

can do all that, there's no reason you can't.

Facet Six: Be Cool, Baby

Time to own up: I'm pretty sure that we all know that becoming

somewhat famous nowadays is not that hard a task. Kim Kardashian

proved that. The "Chocolate Rain" guy proved it too. Hell, even

Karrine "Superhead" Steffans proved that doing almost ANYTHING

can get you in front of the cameras. CEOs know the most simple of

business laws already: fame is a drug you sell, not use.

The problem begins when people obsess over being like the person

they see on tv. Can ANYONE tell me why they attach "star" after
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"reality"? It makes no sense to me. I understand that for the majority of

people reading this, "fame" won't really be an issue with the type of

work you do, but in your case I mean it a little bit differently. It is very

important for CEOs to become big-headed or condescending to others

just because you've upped your tax bracket.

I think we all know someone who acts snobbish or holier than thou

and it generally makes us not want to be around them. I remember a

certain west coast rapper I had to interview who was rude, arrogant and

all around not that interesting to interview. All throughout it he brushed

off my questions and wanted to make sure that I was putting in

everything exactly as he wanted it. After we finished I politely told him

that the article would run sometime soon. For some reason, it never did.

I think you know why.

You don't want to be like that to other people and get the same

response, do you? Of course not. There's nothing wrong with wanting

some recognition for your hard work, but generally you have to earn it

first and once you do have some measure of fame, don't flaunt about or

look down your nose at people.

Another thing to keep in mind is to always keep an “iron on the

stove”. By that, I mean to keep your hustle mind revolving around new

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ways to come up and develop the ideas to the point where you can use

them at any time--but don't. Eventually the first hustle will experience a

dip in popularity; that's the perfect time to hit 'em with your back up.

Facet Seven: Everyone Can Be Anyone

I remember reading a book by someone once that told me “every

person you meet deserves your respect.” Being young, brash and

reckless, I didn't care about all that. My mentality growing up in the

hood was to walk around with a “mug” (permanent frown) on and not

to respect anyone until they've proven themselves. Unfortunately, that's

the same mentality that many of my kind still have to this day and it

isn't helping them at all.

“Respect” isn't something that you should reserve for some special

occasion; it serves you better to give it away in abundance. There are

people out there who don't like me right now, but I still have all the

respect for them because I know that they may not have respect for me,

but they respect the money I'm getting at. And as young CEOs striving

to be the best, understanding the value of the next man can take you a

long ways.

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Take a look at the corporate ladder for example. Starting out, you

might be assigned to the mailroom. Knowing that you're at the bottom

of the totem pole, many of the company's workers make cracks at you

on the regular, not knowing your true potential. You keep your head

down and keep working hard, all the while coming up with new ideas

for problems that the company has been having. The boss sees that you

have ideas that could make him money so he pulls you in to talk about

your idea. Next thing the cacklers know, they're answering to you.

(Yes, this is the movie version, but it's just to show you that it is

applicable to the business world.) You might not believe it but even

“Mr. New York City” Diddy was an intern at one point. Start from the

bottom and rise to the top. People love those kinds of stories anyway.

Facet Eight: The Game Don't Wait

The essence of “the game” is supply and demand and whatever the

demand is, there's someone willing to sell it to them cheaper, faster and

more efficiently. I remember a scene in the John Singleton's film “Baby

Boy” where Jody (Tyrese Gibson's character) and Sweet Pea (Omar

Gooding) are outside the car wash and Jody breaks into a monologue

about how the world is one of commerce. When I first saw that, I

paused it for a moment and thought about how good a bit of game that

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was and how best to apply it. Fast forward to now and at times when I

travel around LA or abroad, I still think of that and look around me. I

see billboards and signs, neon lights and hand-drawn advertisements on

shop windows. You can either be a “seller” or a “buyer” and no matter

what your business is, you operate on both sides of the fence. CEOs

know that money doesn't exist; it's a tangible object that represents

opportunity and THAT is what he was speaking on.

When I say that the game doesn't wait, I mean literally, that every

single day, something is going on that you could be a part of. All it

takes is a little innovation and hustle.

The record industry is a perfect example of a game that isn't waiting

for anyone. When Ice-T came in the game, the process for being a

rapper was to spend serious money in the studio to cut a demo and send

it to a stuffy label exec (in horrible suits) that knew nothing about

where you came from in hopes of getting signed to a paltry deal. Soulja

Boy Tell 'Em, on the other hand, used guerilla marketing like a pro and

recorded the majority of his whole first album on his home computer.

He used free tools like Myspace and Soundclick to get his music out

and eventually got signed. We're looking at about 20 years and see how

the whole infrastructure changed? Up your knowledge and up your

productivity.
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Facet Nine: Indians Make Better Chiefs

As much as I hate to put my folks on blast, young African Americans

are some of the most disloyal people I've ever come across. I speak in

generalities of course, but remember that I've been in the hip hop

journalism field for over five years and talked to countless rappers,

managers and label execs who either share my sentiments or fit the

archetype completely.

I guess it stems from growing up in impoverished situations with slim

to none chances but a lot of what I hear now-a-days is "I'm a boss" or

"I'm a king". There's nothing wrong with having confidence in yourself

and your abilities--I rather encourage it--but most don't realize that

there's a reason why you go UP a totem pole opposed to down it.

When you start at the bottom, you get a unique chance to see how the

whole operation works and also how it could be improved. You see

who the key players are and can pick up some game on how they do

what they do so well. You can see where your niche is and exploit it to

help get you up there faster and when the time comes to where you are

the chief, you know everything about the business backwards and

forwards.

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Anyone who knows me knows that I'm an advocate of

entrepreneurship. I physically and mentally rebel at the idea of wage-

slaving for another person (Uncle Sam included) and l hope you all feel

the same way. If you don't, that's cool too. Just apply what I'm saying to

you to get to the top of the food chain in your chosen company.

Facet Ten: 360 Degrees of Game

The last facet is to review the nine facets before it. You learn habits by

doing a particular task repetitiously and “boss' up” is no different.

Constantly apply the 10 facets in your life and the sky is the limit for

your personal and professional success. Let's go ahead and summarize

the 10 Facets of a CEO.

Facet One: Get Your Mind Correct

CEOs are people that know that life itself is very much a game, and

since they've been born into the game, they're determined to use what

resources they have to win. The first tool in their arsenal is their mind

and it's imperative that they keep the right mindset. Find yourself

mentors to take specific traits from to create your “sensei” and keep it

moving.

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Facet Two: Create Your Persona

Creating your “persona” essentially is creating the YOU that you

want to be. You can take in as much or as little in consideration as you

want and really build the image that you want to convey. When

creating your persona, be sure to accentuate the strengths that you have

already and find the best way to turn your weaknesses into more

strength. Blind as a bat? Grab some contacts. Balding? Ladies love the

clean look anyways. Not only does this help grow your brand, it helps

grow the necessary self-confidence needed to take on the world.

Facet Three: Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan

You'd be hard-pressed to find a successful businessman or woman

who doesn't plan out what it is they're doing in order to know the three

most important things in goal achievement: what you want, what you

have & what you need to get there. Utilize the Three W's and there isn't

much that you can't achieve one way or another.

Facet Four: The Only 'I' in “Team” is W'I'N

Ask any successful person and they will tell you outright that they

didn't do it alone and anyone who does is lying to you. There's no way

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possible that Diddy could manage his empire without someone else to

take the reins in one venture or another because he would over exert

himself. In fact, the really good leaders understand the importance of

“sharing the vision” with their employees and delegating responsibility-

-you get to rest a little bit from the workload and your employee gets to

feel like their effort is truly affecting the company.

Facet Five: Keep Your Options Open

This goes hand in hand with planning your work and working your

plan because I can almost guarantee you that if you're grinding like

you're supposed to and handling biz, other doors will open to you. It's

your job to look through each door as best you can and decide if it's

worth leaving the hallway en route to your original door. Sometimes it

is, sometimes it isn't but you shouldn't let a single door pass by without

at least taking a peek. Kevin Liles, one of the architects from Def Jam

wanted to be a rapper starting out. I'm sure he's glad he didn't stick to

that.

Facet Six: Be Cool, Baby

The lights, camera and glitz makes us all want to be rock stars but

the majority of successful people are behind the scenes because they

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recognize just how big a toll being a celebrity takes on you. Like going

to the mall or out to eat? Nope. Paparazzi will bug you senseless. Like

having a private relationship? None of that either, buddy. Even if you

are monogamous, the tabloids will have you cheating with everything

that isn't nailed down. (And sometimes that too!) You don't have to be a

“celebutante” to “go Hollywood” either--condescension because you

got a little papes makes people not like you too much either. Keep a

level head and you'll do fine.

Facet Seven: Everyone Can Be Anyone

Ambition is something that we all have all though very few act on

it. Those that do take it upon themselves to “get it in gear” know that it

isn't an easy road to where they want to be, and sometimes you have to

take a crap job. That doesn't stop them and instead fuels their passion

even more. Never let yourself get into a sense of self worth that

degrades others because you never know who could be an asset later

on. All it takes is a smile, handshake and good demeanor to establish a

relationship that could pay off for years to come. No matter your

business, relationship building is an essential tool to master and wield.

Facet Eight: The Game Don't Wait

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Truer words have yet to be spoken. In our world of high speed

internet and cloud businesses, older business models don't work like

they did before. A CEO has to adapt to the ever-changing environment

and constantly upgrade herself. Information is readily available and is

the best way to stay ahead of the curve. Invest some time everyday in

learning something new. Even if it isn't in your field per se, you can

soak up game from anywhere if you put your mind to it.

Facet Nine: Indians Make Better Chiefs

It's commendable that you want to lead your own team and have

your own venture, but before you do that, you should know how your

employees feel so that you can better deal with it. By being an Indian

first, you see all the pitfalls and can learn the best way for you to lead

them away from them. Go out and intern with a record label if you

want to learn how they operate. Same goes with law firms, many being

their careers as paralegals and eventually move up. Trust me, the top

feels way more secure when you've built a sturdy base for it.

Facet 10: 360 Degrees of Game

Wash, rinse and repeat. 360 Degrees of Game is actually the slogan

I use for my company YORE Foundation and in truth, it serves me well

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because life itself is a cycle and I've found that the majority of things

have cycles they live by. We all are born, we live and then we die. We

wake up, work and then sleep. After 365 days in the year, it resets. See

how interlocked we are with them? Use the cycle of the 10 Facets of a

CEO and it won't fail you, and that's a promise.

Epilogue: Words from a CEO

You know, when I first set out to write this, the people that I ran the

idea across all said the same thing: “That's a great idea, but why give it

away for free?” To that, I would answer, “Growing up, I've never been

privy to this type of advice and guidance. I would've begun my

professional career a lot sooner if I had. I wanted to give back for all

the good game I've had the opportunity to learn.” If you take anything

from this, I hope you take away the realization that your background,

name, appearance, gender, beliefs, social standing--none of that matters

if you have hustle about yourself. The only obstacle you really have is

YOU. If you know someone who could use this, shoot 'em over

to www.yorefoundation.com to pick up their own copy. It'll be the best

read they've had in years. Probably the most informative one too.

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Thank You’s

I'd like to take the time to thank God, Jehovah, The Universe or as I

like to call him/her/they/it, “management”, for giving me the gift of gab

and the insight to do this. I'd also like to thank LJ for being around--I

kinda like you there. Moms, you get a shout because you influenced my

grind at an early age. Dad, you made me the moral son of a gun I never

forget to portray to people. Wendy and April, my sisters, y'all are a trip.

Thanks. Chris, you're a wiz on the keyboards and I couldn't have done

it without you. I didn't want to make this too long so

________________ I thank you for being there too. (Fill in the blank if

I didn't list you already.)

360 Degrees of Game. YORE Foundation.com

About the Author

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Charles “CZA” Sweet II currently resides in Hollywood, CA and is an

advocate of the education and empowerment of the young entrepreneur,

CEO and small business owner.

He is the Founder and CEO of the Youth Outreach Resource and

Education (YORE) Foundation as well as serving as Editor-In-Chief of

the foundation’s cloud publication www.yorefoundation.com .

©2009 CZA Industries. All Rights Reserved

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