3 CEO Habits for Long-Term Success

Long-term CEO success isn’t built on headline-making acquisitions or ambitious launches. It is built on small, consistent habits practiced every day.

As CEO, you own everything about your company. That includes long-term growth, culture, and the intangibles that are hard to measure but essential to success. Daily pressures will try to pull you into immediate, tactical concerns. The CEOs who stay effective over the long haul know how to resist that pull.

After years of observing executives, running businesses, and working directly with CEOs, I can tell you there is nothing glamorous about what makes leaders endure. It comes down to building systems and habits that drive consistent results. The following three habits may not make headlines, but they build companies that last.

1. Use Differentiating Values to Guide Decisions

Every company claims a set of values. Few define values that actually guide behavior.

Most corporate values read like a generic list of virtues: Respect, Integrity, Excel…