What exactly does the abbreviation CEO stand for? Simple,Chief Executive Officer.

As the title implies, the CEO is the top dog in a large corporation.He reports to the Chairman of the Board. The buck stops on his table.When he sneezes, the organization that he heads catches cold.

With the foregoing in mind, it is clear that the CEO is not a mere mortal like you and I.The CEO is a guy who has taken a gigantic leap from corporate mortality into corporate divinity. Having said this, you cannot expect this special individual to have the same sleeping habits that you do.

Now, if the average Joe or Jane gets a healthy eight hours sleep a night,we cannot, in all honesty, expect the CEO to spend a whole eight hours just sleeping at night.Absolutely not! The CEO spends a lot of sleepless nights because it is simply part of his job description.

SO,what are the things that keep the CEO awake at night? There are quite a number of them as you will get to find out as this article progresses.The most obvious factors that keep the average CEO awake at night include the ones discussed below.

Sales Target:
Even in a thriving corporation,The CEO cannot afford to rest on his oars.He has targets to meet and he has to continue to deliver the goods on a consistent basis. As a result, the CEO loses sleep worrying about how to increase sales and meet sales targets.

Takeover Bids:
In Public Liability Companies,(PLC) mergers and acquisitions have become the order of the day. As a result, the CEO is bound to lose sleep over an imminent takeover bid because it just might mean good bye to his treasured position.

Labor problems:
One feature of the American Constitution that simply confounds the CEO is the fact that employees have the right to embark on industrial action.Apart from giving the CEO instant insomnia, the threat of a strike also increases the blood pressure of most CEOs and makes them have more stress-induced gray hair.

boardroom Battles:
Being a CEO is not a piece of cake.It is actually a battle of wits and a delicate balancing act.The CEO stays up at night trying to figure out which camp in the boardroom he should ally himself with and if he makes the wrong choice, he just might kiss his exalted position good bye.

Government Policy:
Forget what the politicians tell you when they want your votes.Government is not exactly in love with big business.As we all know, some government policies can be a kiss of death to large corporations.And who is most likely to lose sleep over this situation? You guessed right-the CEO of course.!

So, you can now see why the CEO cannot afford to oversleep. If he does, he just might not wake up again.

But then, being a CEO is not all bad. Let's face it,these guys earn millions of dollars as salary.They have stock options,paid vacations and scholarships for their kids. They also get to use the company jet and generally move in the circles of corporate royalty.

Do you want to be a CEO? Fine, but understand this simple fact: uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.But, speaking for myself, I'd say: 'Give me the crown anyhow and let my head lie uneasy'

This is probably what most CEOs would say too and you can't blame them!

Learn more about this author, Emmanuel Osondu.
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