.Greetings and welcome to Modern CEO! I am actually Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief satisfied policeman of Mansueto Ventures. Every week this email list checks out broad techniques to management drawn from talks along with execs and business people, as well as coming from the webpages of Inc. and Quick Firm. If you acquired this newsletter from a buddy, you may subscribe to get it on your own every Monday morning.Being a chief executive officer these days is actually difficult: Stress feature delighting investors, handling rising prices and resolving continuous supply-chain issues, and also generating fantastic place of work. However, for numerous executives, being an ex-CEO provides its very own set of challenges. Some battle to cope with the reduction of the advantages and also status that possess the project, while others experience required to follow the well-trodden road to exclusive equity or even business panels." Each year, countless execs retire from long as well as prosperous corporate professions. However few are actually gotten ready for the adventure they are about to start," former Outpost Communications chief executive officer Maggie Wilderotter stated earlier this year in a Harvard Company Assessment essay, penciled with profession coach Rick Johnson as well as headhunter Dennis Carey.Life past MicrosoftOne past business tribal chief that seems to be to have actually located his ground is actually past Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Ballmer acquired the Los Angeles Clippers basketball staff for $2 billion in 2014 and also just introduced the group's brand-new home, the Intuit Dome. (Quick Company calls it "Steve Ballmer's $ 2 billion play ground for Los Angeles Clippers followers.") The group and field have actually provided Ballmer a sense of reason that possesses, somehow, darkened his expertises at the tech giant. "I have actually worked on a ton of products throughout my job at Microsoft, and I have actually liked them all," Ballmer informed me during a job interview this month at Intuit Dome in front of an audience that featured participants of the Young Presidents' Organization in addition to building laborers who aided construct the amenities as well as their family members. "However ... in the growth of this building, I most likely possessed a more clear viewpoint of what I intended to carry out, and also I have the absolute most satisfaction, certainly not just because it prospered, however [since] it is actually a financial investment in the neighborhood, also." Intuit Dome has actually very much been actually an enthusiasm venture for Ballmer, that looked for to guarantee that all enthusiasts have a premium experience. Every seat is actually developed along with effortless access to concessions and also washrooms, phone charging abilities, as well as plenty of lower leg space, irrespective of ticket price.Ballmer's sizable expenditures are actually paying off. The Clippers gained 51 video games in the 2023-2024 season, and also completed fourth in the NBA Western Association. (The Dallas Mavericks dealt with the staff coming from the playoffs.) And also Ballmer often ranks as being one of the top NBA proprietors in enthusiast polls.He is actually a not likely role model for post-CEO life. His retired life coming from Microsoft in 2014 after 34 years at the firm and thirteen years as CEO was actually mental as well as filled. Though earnings nearly tripled during the course of his tenure, the equity practically went stale, and also the business missed out on the option to become a gamer in cell phones and internet companies. Under the gun coming from the provider's panel, Ballmer looked for to remodel the firm just before inevitably deciding he was not the most ideal person to relocate Microsoft onward. A press reporter that narrated his parting coming from Microsoft explained him as "really sad to leave behind the firm." CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, reinventedPart of what helps make Ballmer a second-act success account is that he failed to attempt to reproduce his corporate lifestyle. Instead, he seized an option to acquire the Clippers after previous co-owner Donald Sterling was actually prohibited coming from running the crew or connecting with the NBA. "Possessing way too many selections may bring about choice fatigue, returning to fail options, and even steering clear of deciding altogether," Wilderotter as well as her co-authors claim, encouraging ex-CEOs to rather redefine their purpose or even identity. (Ballmer is also founder of USAFacts, a detached records company.) Costs George, the previous Medtronic CEO who modify himself as a leadership master after retirement life, has actually mentioned that the previous Chief executive officers who grow are the ones who locate techniques "to produce or even nurture factors that are going to outlive all of them." During our job interview at the arena, Ballmer echoed this belief. "A person informed me when, 'Nobody ever definitely has a basketball staff. You take care of it. You shepherd it, and you carry it along,'" he claims. "Intuit Dome could be a little of what I carry out to shepherd this group along. Considering that it is actually owned due to the fans at the end of the day, as well as our team simply take care of it." Are you a single CEO in a second act?Are you a former CEO that possesses discovered objective in your 2nd process? How did you go about locating your new identity? Deliver your knowledge and also narratives to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. I'll share one of the most engaging examples in a potential newsletter.Read and also watch even more: second acts Apply to the Most Cutting-edge Business Honors and also be actually realized as an association steering the world ahead with development. Early-rate deadline: Friday, August 23.