Thinking Like a Boss: Why Being a CEO is Really About Being an Operations Manager
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To find out the kinds of decisions made from a CEO's point of view, I interviewed Eduardo "Eddie" Gonzalez Loumiet. He's the head of Ruvos, a cloud & other tech services provider to health care companies and government.
THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT FROM THE CEO’S CHAIR
There are many moments in the life of an entrepreneur. But this one happens right after you get your first employee.
You don’t look at things quite the same way.
Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet calls it the “you know what” moment.
2008: When Eddie first joined Ruvos
THE TIP JAR (tips provided courtesy of Eduardo "Eddie" Gonzalez Loumiet)
STARTING OUT: “Don’t hesitate. Try something out.”
“I like when Elon Musk says that he is not afraid to iterate and to fail. And, yes, people maybe get upset. Yes, you may spend money that you didn’t want to spend. But the lessons learned from failure, whether they’re large or small failures, is priceless.”
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “There are startup incubators. There are innovation labs. There are coworking spaces. And, I always say, coworking spaces are great, not just because you need an office, but because of the people around you – your neighbors within that coworking space.”
STARTING OVER: “Startup incubators, universities – they’re starting to come around. And, they’re realizing that, the next big idea doesn’t have to be a 19-year-old’s idea. I think they’re starting to realize, little by little, that there are 50, 60, 70-year-olds out there, even older, that have amazing ideas.”
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Gonzalez Loumiet recommends people in this stage visit the Office of Commercialization, which can be found in different universities. He says, “They love folks with experience. They love folks that have ideas or may want to support ideas. You know, you get a 19-year-old walking in the door that is extremely brilliant and has, you know, the silver bullet for x, y, z situation in the industry. Well, imagine pairing that person up with someone that has been in multiple industries for 35 years.”
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: Gonzalez Loumiet says his parents instilled in him to always be "looking out for the people that need help.”
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: “I met today with a student who has a brilliant idea. And, he reached out, and he said, ‘Mr. Gonzalez Loumiet, I don’t know where to start. I’m overwhelmed. I have an idea. I think I can change the world.’ I spent an hour with him today.”
Gonzalez Loumiet says, “He may be the next Bill Gates. I don’t know. But the point is, he needed help.”
He helped him and encourages others to take a little time to help others.
A passion project for Eddie & Ruvos: Early education
MINDSET FOCUS: YOU NEED TO KEEP THINGS OPERATING
Gonzalez Loumiet is the CEO of Ruvos, a health data technology services company that moved 1.5 billion COVID test results across the U.S. to the CDC and, even the White House, over the last two and a half years.
Gonzalez Loumiet says the “you know what” moment happens when an entrepreneur realizes, ‘Oh, we need to keep this thing operating.’”
That means, “We need to make payroll. And we need to create a brand, and we need to find a way to share our story. We need to fend off even more competition because they know we’re out there.”
YOUR JOB IS THE HAPPINESS OF OTHERS
Oh, and you can’t forget the customers.
“We need to make sure that not only are the customers happy, but the staff are happy.”
Gonzalez Loumiet explains it from the C-suite vantage point.
Sure, entrepreneurship has a certain glamour to it.
Photoshoot when the company changed its name to Ruvos
IT’S NOT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES; IT’S THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR
But, when you’re sitting in the CEO’s chair, even how you think about your employees, is different.
For example, Gonzalez Loumiet doesn’t think about having close to 100 employees.
“We really have 300 people I’m responsible for because the average family has three people, right? So, for me, there’s 300 people.”
He says, there are “100 families that depend on us and our decisions. So, sometimes, that’s a lot of pressure.”
YOU CAN’T FORGET THE OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES
Then, there’s the responsibility of insurance. Yes, health insurance is the big one.
“Thinking about how that impacts your business, financially, and how you can help your employees. It’s not a Ruvos or an Eddie thing. It’s a national issue.”
But then there are the other types of insurance decisions.
“You know, things like, today, I had to review commercial insurance and cybersecurity insurance. It’s not the most fun thing in the world, but it’s a necessary thing that I had to do as a leader of an organization that is responsible for, as I said earlier, 100 families, 300 people and multiple customers across the planet.”
COVID-ERA DECISIONS
Now, there’s the added consideration of COVID-era decision-making.
He says he now has to think about the ramifications of physical in-person work vs. hybrid work for his employees.
“Should we continue being hybrid? Should we go full-remote? Questions like that. There’s a financial impact, obviously, there, good or bad. And, obviously, there’s a cultural impact.”
From paying attention to invoicing, accounts receivables and accounts payables, he says you have to stay on top of those nitty-gritty operational details.
That’s because, in the end, he says the operational details matter.
“It doesn’t matter how much you do out there in terms of, you know, business development, presentations and… conferences. Your house has to be in order.”
INDUSTRY: Technology, Data Management (Health)
BECAME CEO: 2008
LATINO/HISPANIC CONNECTION: Parents were born in Cuba
EDUCATION:
University of Miami – Master’s degree in Business Administration
Loyola University – Bachelor’s degree in Finance & Computer Information Systems
DREAM JOB AS A KID: “My grandfather came from Cuba and was the first person that introduced me to the computer. He was an architect... I remember at 8 or 9, he showed me a computer. And I said, 'You know, I don’t know if I’m going to be a coder or developer, but I’m going to do something with computers.'”
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “Global health.”
“We have seven people in South Africa today. [It’s] kind of our foreign operating base in doing global health. And, so, we look forward to doing more overseas and setting up, basically, technology, that allows us to see from a situational awareness perspective what is happening globally when it comes to surveillance of diseases.”
“We know there’s a lot of politics involved. We know there’s a lot of bureaucracy involved. Usually, the technology is the easy part. So, I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to help the world be better prepared for, God forbid, the next pandemic.”
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
Cashing In
Inflation may be eating up your cash, but this FREE online webinar will help you fight back and find cash in your business. You’ll learn where to look and where to save. See details below:
SBDC (Small Business Development Corporation) – Florida Gulf Coast University
"Finding Hidden Cash in Your Business"
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
11 a.m. EDT – 12 p.m. EDT
Online Webinar
FREE
https://clients.floridasbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=900420009
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
It’s About Personality!
Don't hide it. Play it up. Learn how you can use your personality to increase sales. This three-part webinar caught my attention because the instructor is also a coach and author of "The Magical Power of 3: Roadmap to Success, Wealth & Happiness." In this first part, you’ll learn how to read people more effectively and to make the most of your personality to increase sales and success.
NEC (National Entrepreneurship Center) & SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) Orlando
“How to Leverage Your Personality to Sell More – Part 1 of 3”
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
5:30 p.m. EDT – 7:30 p.m. EDT
Virtual Webinar
FREE
https://www.sba.gov/events/1712313
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE: When people think of what CEOs are responsible for, they usually think big picture. And, of course, that’s true.
What many people don't talk about are the decisions that aren’t sexy, aren’t glamorous and, let’s face it, aren’t fun to make. But they have to be made.
They’re the day-to-day decisions that keep a business going.
I don’t see many articles on operations. That’s why I wanted to focus on that aspect of being a CEO.
Similarly, there’s so much focus on sales and business development, which are, obviously, important. But I thought it was also important to learn what it means to get your “house in order”, in the business sense.
Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet was ready with all kinds of examples.
The business he’s in, facilitating the secure delivery of health care data, may not be your business.
But, as Cesar Quintero, another CEO profiled by Generation Si! put it, there are many recurrent elements that every business owner needs to know how to do, no matter what business he or she is leading.
In Part Two of our profile of Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet, you’ll learn why looking at the not-so-obvious or popular options may end up being your best option when it comes to deciding on a business and, actually, doing business.
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