CEO Brandon Frere: How to Best Guide an Organization? Set the Agenda

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Aug 21, 2018, 08:00 ET

PETALUMA, Calif., Aug. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- How can CEOs most efficiently guide their organizations? A recent study by the Harvard Business Review suggests that setting a clearly defined agenda and surrounding oneself with a dynamic leadership team are highly valuable tools that allow CEOs to optimize resources. Without these in place, the loudest constituencies and most immediate concerns take over, and a lot of important work is done less effectively. According to the study, a good agenda sets priorities and is more of a matrix addressing specific matters with open-ended priorities than a linear, rigid outline. Further, having a trusted team allows more time to pursue the agenda. Brandon Frere, CEO of Frere Enterprises and other ventures, understands the need to create an agenda to guide steady progress on multiple, simultaneous work streams while fluidly responding to emerging issues.

"Having an agenda can really bring focus to an organization," said Frere. "And having a solid leadership team in place is absolutely essential. As issues arise, no matter how severe, we need a team in place I can trust to handle it and the agenda to set the direction and goals to move forward with the work that we have prioritized."

According to the study, nearly 36 percent of the day was spent reacting to internal issues, such as team conflict or a product safety failure, or external issues, such as a cyberattack or even a natural disaster. Though these more extreme incidences were rare, CEOs were forced to expend resources at high rates, while still working toward desired outcomes.

One way CEOs furthered their agenda was to limit routine responsibilities. Over 10 percent of CEO time was spent on routine duties such as review meetings, board meetings and greeting new employees. The study revealed that CEOs need to look hard at each of these activities and decide which are essential for the well-being of the organization and which might be more efficiently given up to make time to pursue the agenda.

Further, CEOs can advance their agenda by having confidence in their leadership team. A correlation was discovered in that the more confidence that CEOs had in their direct reports (staff reporting directly to a CEO), the more time CEOs spent with them, furthering the agenda of the organization. Conversely, the less confidence a CEO had in direct reports, the more time they had to spend dealing with work that should have gotten done and cleaning up after substandard work, taking time away from agenda-driven goals. Direct reports who could be trusted to do more than manage the status quo helped the CEO take the company to a new level.

"I have been so lucky to surround myself with a team I can trust," said Frere, "so that our organization can stay focused on our agenda, continuing to add value to the lives of our clients and employees."

About Frere Enterprises

Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers. His company website, www.FrereEnterprises.com, is used as a means to communicate many of the lessons, fundamentals and information that he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors. Most recently, Frere has focused on advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide.

As he experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and understand the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. This firsthand knowledge has helped him gain an insider's look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his endeavors and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

FrereEnterprises.com

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Frere Enterprises website

SOURCE Frere Enterprises