Carly Fiorina described it in great detail, including
a psychology test she agreed to go through, in her
memoir ‘Tough Choices’.

Sounds like these are exciting times at Adaptive Path, and this is a big decision. I’ve got some thoughts on things to consider before hiring your new CEO.

Not all CEO jobs are created equal.
The cognitive capacity of your CEO will do more to seal the fate of your company than any other factor. Growth, Contraction, or Stability?

It would behoove you to use a validated, science-based approach to assess the work complexity level of the proposed CEO role, and then screen your candidates for the corresponding level of cognitive capability.

Hugely Important Strategic Question
My question is: Do you plan to continue with your “team leadership” approach or are you thought leaders looking to hire yourselves a thought leader? It’s unclear based on what you’ve posted.

Partner or To-the-Next-Level Leader?
The candidate pool for hiring a cognitive “partner” who would add a different knowledge and skill base than that of your three founders would be different than the candidate pool for someone who could “take the business to the next level”. Taking the business to the next higher level would require a higher cognitive capacity than that which is currently in place.

Einstein Believed in Levels
Einstein said: “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

Your Destiny - Humble Success, Implosion, or Sale?
Very few entrepreneurs have the humility necessary to understand when their “baby” has grown out from under them and now requires a level of leadership greater than they can offer. Relinquishing the top spot to an “outsider” and becoming their direct report takes guts and character. Usually when start ups hit this crucial point, they implode or are purchased.

No Strategic Decision Should Be Made without Looking Through This Lens
There may not be one right answer on this, but using a work levels and cognitive capacity framework to inform these strategic, destiny-determining, structural decisions is the best path to ensuring you continue to grow culturally, creatively, and financially.

I’m a blogger who blogs about system-level solutions for organizational structure, talent management, and managerial leadership. I frequently say, hierarchy, like bacteria, is not inherently good or bad, but misunderstand or ignore them at your peril.

I used your CEO choice-point situation to make a few points on my blog. To view my full post, you can visit here: http://www.missionmindedmanagement.com/adaptive-path-at-destinys-door

Regards,

Michelle Malay Carter

The right person, IMHO, is a combination strategic planner swirled with an historian and possibly a naturalist. Not literally out of those fields, but with attributes one might associate with each of them.

Plus he or she honestly likes people, likes things that work, and helps both people and projects to succeed.