.Greetings and invited to Modern CEO! I am actually Stephanie Mehta, chief executive officer and main content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Every week this newsletter looks into inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from chats with execs and business owners, as well as from the web pages of Inc. and also Fast Firm. If you obtained this bulletin from a buddy, you can join to obtain it on your own every Monday morning.Being a CEO nowadays is actually difficult: Stress include pleasing shareholders, dealing with rising costs as well as resolving recurring supply-chain concerns, and producing great place of work. But also for lots of managers, being an ex-CEO offers its very own set of problems. Some struggle to handle the loss of the rewards and also status that feature the work, while others experience obliged to comply with the well-trodden road to exclusive equity or even company boards." Yearly, countless executives retire from lengthy and also prosperous business occupations. However few are actually prepared for the adventure they are about to plunge into," former Frontier Communications chief executive officer Maggie Wilderotter stated previously this year in a Harvard Business Review essay, penned with occupation instructor Rick Johnson and also headhunter Dennis Carey.Life past MicrosoftOne past corporate big shot who seems to be to have actually located his ground is previous Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Ballmer acquired the Los Angeles Clippers baseball crew for $2 billion in 2014 and also simply introduced the crew's new home, the Intuit Dome. (Quick Business calls it "Steve Ballmer's $ 2 billion playing field for LA Clippers followers.") The staff and sector have offered Ballmer a feeling of reason that possesses, in some ways, darkened his experiences at the tech giant. "I've worked on a bunch of products throughout my profession at Microsoft, as well as I've adored all of them all," Ballmer told me throughout an interview this month at Intuit Dome before a target market that included participants of the Young Presidents' Institution along with building and construction employees that aided create the location and their households. "But ... in the advancement of this structure, I most likely possessed a more clear scenery of what I wished to carry out, and I have the absolute most total satisfaction, not even if it prospered, yet [due to the fact that] it is actually a financial investment in the community, as well." Intuit Dome has very much been an enthusiasm job for Ballmer, who sought to make certain that all supporters possess a premium knowledge. Every seat is actually developed along with easy accessibility to giving ins as well as restrooms, phone demanding abilities, and also enough lower leg room, regardless of ticket price.Ballmer's sizable investments are actually repaying. The Clippers succeeded 51 video games in the 2023-2024 time, and finished 4th in the NBA Western Event. (The Dallas Mavericks got rid of the crew coming from the playoffs.) And Ballmer repeatedly ranks as one of the best NBA owners in enthusiast polls.He is an unlikely role model for post-CEO lifestyle. His retirement coming from Microsoft in 2014 after 34 years at the company as well as 13 years as chief executive officer was mental and also stuffed. Though revenues virtually tripled during his period, the share practically stagnated, and the company skipped the option to end up being a player in mobile phones as well as internet services. Under the gun coming from the company's panel, Ballmer found to renew the firm before inevitably choosing he was certainly not the greatest person to move Microsoft onward. A media reporter that told his parting from Microsoft described him as "extremely depressing to leave the provider." CEO, reinventedPart of what produces Ballmer a second-act effectiveness story is that he failed to attempt to recreate his business lifestyle. Instead, he took possession of a chance to get the Clippers after previous co-owner Donald Sterling was disallowed coming from managing the group or linking with the NBA. "Having a lot of options can cause choice fatigue, changing to default options, and even staying away from choosing altogether," Wilderotter and also her co-authors claim, advising ex-CEOs to rather redefine their function or even identification. (Ballmer is likewise founder of USAFacts, a detached data firm.) Bill George, the past Medtronic CEO who modify themself as a management authority after retirement life, has actually mentioned that the past CEOs who thrive are actually the ones who locate techniques "to produce or even nurture things that will outlast all of them." Throughout our interview at the arena, Ballmer reflected this sentiment. "Someone told me as soon as, 'No one ever before truly possesses a basketball staff. You handle it. You shepherd it, and also you deliver it along,'" he states. "Intuit Dome can be a little of what I do to shepherd this team along. Since it is actually owned by the supporters in the end of the time, as well as we only take care of it." Are you an one-time CEO in a second act?Are you a past chief executive officer that has found function in your second act? How did you engage in finding your brand-new identity? Deliver your ideas and anecdotes to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. I'll discuss the absolute most powerful examples in a potential newsletter.Read and also enjoy a lot more: second process Apply to the absolute most Cutting-edge Companies Awards and be identified as an institution driving the globe ahead via advancement. Early-rate due date: Friday, August 23.