When it comes to creating the vision of a company, there is no better person that this task can be entrusted to than the CEO. A CEO is responsible for aligning the functioning of a company with its vision. A CEO also guides the employees in achieving the company's objectives and handles all top level external relationships in the course of business. The functional role of a CEO in a smaller organization is different from that of a larger corporation. The CEO of a smaller company needs to pay greater attention to functional responsibilities. This is primarily because smaller organizations don't usually have independent functional managers in areas such as operations, marketing, technology, and human resources. Smaller organizations tend to focus on building up a customer base and creating revenue streams.

Very often, the CEO of a smaller organization may tend to focus on less important tasks and neglect important responsibilities such as developing revenue streams. This can lead to serious problems of mismanagement. They may also be unable to bring about changes to existing policies due to the inability to identify them. Some CEOs may end up using a fixed approach to manage the business.

On the other hand, most CEOs of large corporations have trained in business management and have a significant amount of experience in developing business strategies, as well as finding the right business consultants to assist them in their jobs. In addition, they are usually assisted by functional managers which include a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Operating Officer, among others, who work independently and report to the CEO. Among the tasks of a CEO is to motivate these officers so that they co-ordinate and work towards development of the business.

Another important task of a corporate CEO is to create a good image of the company among its customers, public, and government entities. One of the major challenges is to ensure that the business continues smoothly despite all the challenges the company may face. As a norm, a CEO reports to a Board of Directors that are appointed by shareholders of the company. The role of a Chief Executive Officer differs on the size and nature of the business. However, in businesses big and small, CEOs are left in total charge of the business. While business development is left up to a CEO in a small business, larger corporations have functional managers that co-ordinate with the CEO.

Compensations vary obviously according to the nature and size of the business. Steering a large corporation in the right direction will always be an uphill, but not an unachievable task. One advantage of being in charge of a large organization is that there are many functional mangers who share responsibilities at various levels within the company. However, one may argue that the task of the small business CEO is as difficult due to the fact that he or she almost single-handed needs to manage most tasks. The bottom line is as a Chief Executive Officer your tasks may seem bigger or smaller, however, the basic roles remain the same. With the right vision, becoming a successful CEO is distinctly possible.