Today’s guest post is from Dave  Kilby, President of the Western Association of Chamber Executives.

1. Surround yourself with a good team.

This may be obvious, but it doesn’t always happen. You absolutely need a good team to be a champion. Hiring decisions are critical for success. Every time I’ve hired quickly and “settled” for someone who I felt wasn’t quite right, they weren’t and I paid the price. Talent is also the name of the game when it comes to your board of directors. It’s essential to have a great board of leaders and you, as the CEO, will need to play an active role with your nominating committee to make this happen.

 2. Don’t be afraid to ask.

It’s amazing what you can get done if you just ask. I’ve found that everything from generating sponsorship money to getting assistance on a project, and personal and professional advice is there for the taking—if you’ll just ask. Some people may view asking for help as a weakness, I see it as a strength. Some of the most successful CEOs have mastered the art of asking.

 3. Know what your members think.

One of the top things on any CEO’s list should be making sure you have information about what your customers are thinking, wanting and needing. Doing customer research does not have to be expensive and can reveal priceless information. The key and hardest part is actually doing something with this information. Don’t ignore the data and keep doing business as usual.

 4. Know your numbers.

I’m convinced that if you don’t know your numbers, you can’t have a thriving business. In a membership organization, like a chamber of commerce, you need to know your membership retention rate, your delinquent accounts, the real cost of your events, etc. Financial surprises will often lead to a CEO change.

 5. It’s OK to say “no.”

One of the most important skills to hone is being able to say “no.” Keeping your eye on your core competencies is essential and when ideas surface that will take your organization off course, you need to be able to respectfully decline.  One of my favorite quotes is from Bill Cosby: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

 6. Learn from others.

The answers are out there; you just need to look. Many times the answers are not in your backyard and you may have to travel to another community to find the solution to your issue or problem. I’m a firm believer that mentors, advisory boards and “true confession” sessions with others in the industry (where you can find out how they REALLY do things and can ask “what would you do?”) are priceless.

 7. Be a broker of ideas.

One of my favorite business books is 7 Measures of Success. One of the seven measures for successful associations is a CEO who is a broker of ideas. A CEO needs to constantly lead, listen to feedback and offer new ideas and direction. Some executives are great at taking direction from boards, but drop the ball when it comes to leading, suggesting course corrections and steering the ship.

 8. Know the rules.

If you don’t know the rules, you better know where to find out the answers. Knowing the latest in the legal and human resources arena can be huge to a business.A commitment to lifelong learning is essential. When I see a longtime executive stop coming to conferences and workshops, oftentimes a major problem or error that could have been averted seems to rear its ugly head sooner rather than later. In a membership organization, this also means knowing what’s in your bylaws and adhering to your bylaws.

 9. Relationships matter.

In many cases you are the brand and people are essentially buying you. That means your relationships and how people perceive you can make or break a business. As Scott Stratton, president of Un-Marketing, says, “If you believe business is built on relationships, you’d better start building.”