How can a new CEO use the key behaviors mentioned in "The CEO Next Door" to understand the shape of the business in their first year?

The insights from "The CEO Next Door" can help a CEO in making decisions with speed and conviction by encouraging them to understand the shape of the business in their first year, and to identify any discrepancies between the board's expectations and the actual state of the business. The CEO should engage with key stakeholders, customers, and employees to gather information. If a critical gap is discovered, the CEO should act decisively and swiftly to address it, whether it's a financial or operational issue, a cultural blind spot, or a personnel problem. This approach ensures relentless reliability and allows the CEO to adapt boldly to new challenges.

In their first year, a CEO might face challenges such as a gap between the board's expectations and the reality of the business, hidden financial or operational issues, cultural blind spots that hinder necessary changes, or signs that critical team members are not up to the job or planning to leave. To adapt boldly to these challenges, the CEO should engage with others in a way that drives results, make decisions with speed and conviction, and show relentless reliability. They should also spend time understanding the business, listening to key stakeholders, and interacting with customers.