A True Story About Four CEO's

Several years ago a Silicon Valley editor moderated a discussion with a panel of CEO’s. The four CEO’s responded to his questions with very diverse thinking and management philosophies. 

I predicted that:

• One company would do extremely well

• Two would do mediocre and flounder if they did not transform

• #4 would spiral into a rapid decline

My predictions were accurate.  My colleagues asked: “How did you know?” 

The CEOs’ vocabulary reflected their strategic thinking.  It was clear which of the four CEO’s had a philosophy of management and a commitment to learn.  Some already had management fads infiltrating their culture.  But one CEO knew how to think about optimizing his system, creating a healthy work culture, leading and developing people, and focusing on business strategies that would serve and ANTICIPATE the needs of customers.

The fourth CEO whose company is now defunct spoke about many “best practices” (management fads) he was implementing, and his arrogance was evident. His strategy centered on the company exit strategy, not on Quality, Improvement, and Innovation being core business strategies with a focus on healthy growth and serving customers. 

Originally written in February 2014