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Mackenzie Lee
CEO @ Cedar | Helping CEOs let go and do more | Office of the CEO Consultant, Speaker & Author | Follow me to find CEO freedom
Mackenzie Lee is the CEO and Founder of Cedar, a global leadership consulting firm based in New York City. Cedar specializes in supporting CEOs and C-suite teams by building world-class Offices of the CEO, hiring Chiefs of Staff, and implementing leadership operating systems. Mackenzie’s work focuses on helping executives eliminate distractions, streamline operations, and focus on high-value initiatives.123
With nearly two decades of experience, Mackenzie has served as a management consultant, startup founder, and Chief of Staff. He has partnered with leaders from Fortune 1000 companies, top startups, private equity-backed firms, and government organizations. Notable clients include Google, Palantir, Citi, and the Department of Energy. His expertise spans financial services, technology, and healthcare industries.125
Mackenzie is also a sought-after speaker and thought leader on topics related to leadership and executive operations. He authored The Chief of Staff Playbook and frequently shares insights on LinkedIn. Academically, he holds a Master’s in Management Science & Engineering and a Bachelor’s in Public Policy from Stanford University. He currently resides in New York City.134
Highlights
6 objections to building the Office of the CEO and how to handle them (Part 1/2)
If you want to invest in developing your Office of the CEO, you'll need to get buy-in from your CEO.
But it's not easy convincing a CEO with limited time, attention and budget.
Here are 3 common CEO objections to the Office of the CEO and how to handle them, the next 3 will be posted tomorrow.
𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚
I'm glad you mentioned time. Time is one of the most precious assets for a busy CEO. The Office of the CEO is designed to give you more free time so you can spend it your most strategic, high priority initiatives.
If you invest in building the Office of the CEO, your meeting load will decrease, your decision load will fall dramatically, and your blockers will be handled by your executive office. You have much more time to grow your company faster by setting strategy, meeting with prospects and touching base with your biggest customers.
𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙩
Investing in the Office of the CEO will produce returns that impact you, your leadership team and your entire company. The ROI for the Office of the CEO has been calculated anywhere from 9x-31x, making this a worthwhile investment. In addition, you must establish a strong Office of the CEO to remain competitive in your market. The way you operate as a CEO is a strategic differentiator vs your competitors. If you aren't able to show up at your best, then your market share will slip, your growth will suffer and your board won't be happy.
𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨
Look, I get it. You have a million things on your plate as a CEO. But the Office of the CEO is meant to help you handle this through delegation, de-escalation and prioritization.
Your competing priorities will actually decrease because you have successfully engaged your leadership team to deal with them on your behalf. This allows you to declutter your headspace, regain your sanity and get back in control.
𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀
Try out these objection handing scripts on your CEO this week to unlock significant investment in your Office of the CEO.
Stay tuned for the final 3 objections in a post tomorrow:
𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙀𝙊
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Like this post if it will help you overcome CEO objections to investing in your Office of the CEO.
Follow me, Mackenzie Lee, for more Office of the CEO content and an upcoming, first-ever Office of the CEO Playbook.
CEO's: What do you get if you build a world-class Office of the CEO?
Simplicity.
