This blog is not for the CEO’s of Wall Street.  They are easy to find.  This is a blog for the CEO’s of Main Street companies.

We all know that the average job lifecycle of a CMO can be pretty short these days.  I have read articles that say it can be as short as 18 months in some categories.  While doing some research on that topic I also came across some stats that said the average life cycle of a CEO was 54 months.

Since nobody gets hired as a CEO right out of college that translates to roughly  four to five CEO jobs in a working lifetime.  I also read an article that said it takes an average person making $100K plus an average of 18 months to find a job using networking, recruiters and job boards.  That is a lot of time on the beach.

I recently learned that two CEO’s who jobs were eliminated.  They were doing a great job but things happen, companies get sold, things go bad, there are mergers and acquisitions, changes, and cheese gets moved in the New Normal.

I have always believed that the CEO’s of companies need to do more to market and promote themselves when they are working.  They need to create a lot of accomplishment legacy on Google to help them find their next gig when things go South.

I think that they should insure that a proportion of their companies PR budget is focused on promoting them as well as the company.  They should be the face of the brand or the company.

Some say that this is self serving.  Well are company’s severance packages self serving these days?  I have heard many stories of people at various levels of organizations who were heroes one day bestowed with cornucopias of awards and recognition jettisoned from those companies in a fashion that would make your think they were delivery people. Accomplishments and accolades dissipated into vapor.

CEO’s need to stay top of mind when they are out of the game and the content of your past achievements on Google helps keep you there.  The more content you get out there when you are on the job the better. While you are tenured you need to promote yourself.

Make sure your leadership and accomplishments are the focus of company features in trade and business journals. The perceptions of a well run ship inspires employee and investor confidence.   Bringing that to the forefront is not self serving, it is smart business. There is a legacy of CEO’s that were great personal branders when personal branding was not in the vernacular.

CEO’s need to write articles and blog.  Be one of the few CEO’s who has a robust Social Media presence besides Richard Branson.  Also be one of the few CEO’s that attends networking meetings on a regular basis in your business community and industry.  Speak at Conferences. Accept Linkedin invites.  People who walk a different path get noticed.

Start your own CEO networking group comprised of working CEO’s and CEO’s in transition. Promote it aggressively and get credit for it. When you need a lifeline the CEO’s that are currently in transition may have landed and they will be your strongest supporters.

Does this take a lot of time?  For sure.  Then again if you remember the stats at the start of this blog there will be times when you have too much time.

By the way I am not a CEO.  I just see.

You can connect with Hank on Linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/in/hankblankcom

Follow his updates on twitter @hankblank

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hankblank

Watch some videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/MrHankblank

Email him at hank@hankblank.com