Do all CEOs follow the same dos and don’ts?
To uncover the truth, we interviewed four prominent CEOs to get their opinions on the five essential dos and don’ts for a CEO.

Here are their responses:

We interviewed Mr. Nalin Karunaratne, the CEO of Ceylon Biscuits Limited (CBL), commonly known as Munchee. CBL is a renowned Sri Lankan food manufacturer, famous for Munchee biscuits and one of the oldest biscuit makers in Sri Lanka, holding 60% of the domestic market share.

We forwarded two questions to Mr. Karunaratne, and he answered them as follows:
1. Are you satisfied with your role as CEO?
Yes, for sure.

2. What are the five most critical dos and don’ts for a CEO, in your view?

DOs:

1. Ability to see the distance and be the first to be there.
2. Ability to coordinate the uncoordinated.
3. Inspiring people to see their true potential.
4. Being true to yourself and ruthlessly honest.
5. Being human and humble.

DON’Ts:

1. Being a politically motivated leader.
2. Exploiting opportunities for short-term gains.
3. Thinking you can fool all the people all the time.
4. Not understanding the numbers that drive the business.
5. Not knowing clearly what direction the business is heading.