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"The CEO role is actually quite simple," said no founder ever.

It's the ultimate paradox – the most coveted position has the least clarity around what it actually entails. The tech industry idolises CEOs, studying their every move, yet the actual job description remains frustratingly elusive.

That's why I'm particularly excited about today's breakdown. My buddy Bill Kerr, founder and CEO of Athyna (a company I’m both a customer of and investor in), offered to break down his framework for the core job description of a CEO.

Having built a 100% remote company with engagement metrics that made me double-take (92 out of 100 - 80 is considered excellent, and 100 is perfect), he’s the first shoulder I’d tap for refreshing perspective to the nebulous art of modern-day leadership.

Over to Bill.

What is the job of a CEO?

Chess Move

The what: A TLDR explanation of the strategy

“Every time you make the hard, correct decision, you become a bit more courageous, and every time you make the easy, wrong decision, you become a bit more cowardly. If you are CEO, these choices will lead to a courageous or cowardly company." — Ben Horowitz co-founder of a16z

Hey there reader, for those who don’t know me my name is Bill Kerr, founder and CEO of hiring startup, Athyna, and also writer at Open Source CEO. And today, I am here to chat with you about the core job of a CEO, as I see it anyway.

The title ‘Chief Executive Officer’ is pretty loaded. It's the top dog, the captain steering the ship, the one ultimately accountable for everything in the organisation. But here's the thing—what does a CEO actually do, and why isn't there a clear manual for becoming one?

Today, we're going to unpack this CEO mystery a bit. Spoiler alert: there's no one-size-fits-all answer. It's less of a science, more of an art—and it looks different for everyone. But the good news is, the picture gets clearer the more you grow into the role. Let's break it down.

Breakdown

The how: The strategic playbook boiled down to 3x key takeaways

What does it mean to be a CEO today?

In his newsletter I saw a tweet by a gentlemen named Bilal Zuberi outlining the five key jobs of a CEO: strategy, fundraising, hiring, communications and accountability. This became my bible, and has lived as the screensaver of my laptop ever since.

1.  Chart the direction

You already love Strategy Breakdowns. That’s why you’re here. So, let's talk strategy. It starts with the basics: mission, vision, values. Think short-term tactics, measurable OKRs, and long-term, ambitious targets—those big hairy audacious goals everyone talks about. The easiest way to sharpen your strategic thinking? Simple: read. Dive into everything you can get your hands on—books, investor letters, classic blogs.

Truth is, you don't magically get strategy just because you started a company. You learn strategy by doing it, obsessing over the data, and refining as you go. The difference between good and great strategy can be the gap between building a decent business and going public. The difference between good and poor strategy can literally mean survival or failure.

Read widely, learn constantly, become data-driven, ask plenty of questions. Watch and learn from people who've done it before. Build up your intellectual muscle—your future self will thank you.

2. Have the money to execute

Next up is getting the capital you need to actually execute your strategy—or as it's more commonly known, not dying. Sounds straightforward, but depending on what you're building, it can be anything but easy.

If you're bootstrapping an agency, great—you probably won't need a ton of money. If you're tackling something ambitious, like deep-tech innovation, buckle up—you're gonna need serious funding to make it happen. Your first step: clearly understand the game you're playing and work backwards from there to figure out how much capital it's going to take.

Keep in mind, survival doesn't always mean immediate profitability. It might just mean being ‘default alive.’ Know your runway, have a clear plan to stay afloat, and you'll be doing exactly what you're supposed to here.

3. Build the best team to execute

Now that survival is sorted, let's tackle execution—specifically, hiring to achieve your company's goals. Most founders initially underestimate how challenging hiring is. It's tough, competitive, and your early hires won't just do work; they'll shape your culture (or lack of it).

So, how do you master hiring? A couple of ways: start by building an appealing employer brand, and then nurture an exceptional internal culture. A compelling brand attracts top-tier talent eager to join your team. An outstanding culture ensures that once they're in, they'll be driven to perform their best.

Of course, you won't instantly nail hiring, so tap into headhunting, leverage your network, and build partnerships externally. All the while, keep refining your employer brand and cultivating your culture. Simply put: assemble a team of motivated superstars, and there's very little you can't overcome.

4. Communicate internally & externally

Another critical responsibility for today's leaders: communication—both internally and externally. Internally, this means leading company All-Hands, pitching and regularly updating investors, managing board relationships, and keeping your team aligned. Externally, it's all about amplifying your company's mission, vision, and values loudly and clearly.

Words carry immense power—they can inspire movements or, quite literally, change the world. Leaders throughout history, from Martin Luther King to Steve Jobs, understood this. Whether their impact was positive or negative, their ability to move people through words is unforgettable. Your task: learn how to wield your words thoughtfully and effectively.

5. Hold people accountable

Lastly, a key element of leadership is accountability. As a leader, it's your job to set high standards—and not just talk about them, but demonstrate them every day. You must consistently lead by example, showing your team what excellence looks like in practice.

However, accountability goes beyond simply setting standards. It also means having the courage to address underperformance head-on. If your top talent finds themselves surrounded by people who aren’t delivering at their level, morale and productivity will inevitably suffer. Making tough calls to ensure that your team is made up of A-players rather than settling for mediocrity can be deeply uncomfortable—but it’s also incredibly impactful.

Holding people accountable doesn't mean ruling with an iron fist. Rather, it involves clear communication, empathy, and fairness. It means providing constructive feedback, celebrating excellence, and not shying away from difficult conversations or decisions. While this might not be the glamorous part of being a leader, it’s absolutely essential for building a successful, high-performing team and ultimately achieving your organisation's goals.

And while your responsibilities may shift and evolve over time, one constant about the CEO role is its inherent ambiguity—it's rarely clearly defined. Early on, you'll juggle multiple roles: founder-led sales, recruitment, even customer support. Over time, however, these diverse tasks gradually streamline. Eventually, your role solidifies around key pillars: strategy, capital management, hiring, communications, and accountability.

Once you've reached this stage, your focus shifts towards execution. Success becomes about mastering a highly focused, critically important set of responsibilities. Dive deep, stay focused, and embrace the challenge.

Rabbit Hole

The where: 3x high-signal resources to learn more

Open Source CEO ↗

[10 minute read]

I write a newsletter for over 110,042 founders, investors and leaders in tech who want to outperform the competition.

The Ultimate Investor Letter Database ↗

[evergreen resource]

Here is a great database with every shareholder letter from Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan, and Oaktree Capital.

Subscribe to get your copy!

Open Sourcing My Content Diet ↗

[15 minute read]

This is a nice complimentary piece to today’s piece around how I think about nurturing my brain and my overall content diet.

That’s all from Bill today - how did you find today’s guest post?

I’m thinking about doing more of these with other interesting strategists. Would love to hear your thoughts - reply to this email and let me know!

See you next week.

— Tom

P.S. Nearly 100 of you are in on the secret next phase of the Strategy Breakdowns journey - click here to join the club.

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