Viva la Co-revoluCEOn
By Jennifer Cronin, Co-CEO and Chief Brand Officer
“Co-CEO – how does that work?” It’s a question we get a lot, I think because people are skeptical but also feel like we are the type of people you can ask. Our tagline is “We are good together,” which really doesn’t lend itself to intimidation.
Does Co-CEO imply we are so deferential that we don’t want to step on each other’s toes? No, we still manage to defer AND step on toes; that’s kind of the deal when you’re in business with a dear friend. Does it mean we so resist the concept of hierarchy that we endeavor to have a completely flat organization? No, that’s not it either. We honor the contributions everyone has to make, but value the role of the decision maker. How many well-meaning organizations remain at an impasse because no one wants to take charge? That doesn’t happen here. We strive for consensus, but ultimately, we make a decision.
We are Co-CEOs because we bring different and equally valuable skill sets to the proverbial table. We joke a little too often that we both have Libra as our rising sign, so we are naturally balanced. There are so many popular frameworks to describe the dynamic: integrator vs. visionary, operations vs. creative, left-brain vs. right-brain, etc. None of these are exactly right and, more importantly, the dynamic is fluid. For us, it’s more like a game of doubles tennis where we’re partners and have full-court coverage, each adjusting to where the other is depending on the incoming balls and our overall strategy. We are connected and symbiotic.
Another important reason we are Co-CEOs is: WHY NOT? Why can’t a job be defined in such a way that a certain degree of coverage is built in so that things like taking care of kids or parents, vacations, or illness are not reasons for business to come to a halt? So that volunteer work or other interests need not be sacrificed because every waking hour is committed to the pursuit of income. After years in the old model of saying “Why does it have to be this way?” we decided to build the world we wanted to see. And lo, it did not have to be that way.
This simple title with the addition of two letters and a hyphen — and the not-so-simple reasoning behind it — is part of what makes Collabry unique. We are able to take the best of what we have experienced in corporate settings – the camaraderie, getting things done, some of the processes and procedures and mix that with more of what we want to see going forward – namely accountability, empathy, and inclusion. We live in times of rapid, dramatic change which means that we live in a time of opportunity. How convenient for those of us who wanted to glow it up in the first place.