The Secrets of CEOs: 150 Global Chief Executives Lift the Lid on Business, Life and Leadership PDF
Preview The Secrets of CEOs: 150 Global Chief Executives Lift the Lid on Business, Life and Leadership
THE SECRETS OF CEOs InlovingmemoryofSylviaTappinandSirJohnHarvey-Jones THE SECRETS OF CEOs 150 global chief executives lift the lid on business, life and leadership Steve Tappin & Andrew Cave Firstpublishedby NicholasBrealeyPublishingin2008 3–5SpafieldStreet 20ParkPlaza,Suite1115A Clerkenwell,London Boston EC1R4QB,UK MA02116,USA Tel:+44(0)2072390360 Tel:(888)BREALEY Fax:+44(0)2072390370 Fax:(617)5233708 www.nicholasbrealey.com www.theSecretsofCEOs.com ©SteveTappin&AndrewCave2008 TherightsofSteveTappinandAndrewCavetobeidentifiedastheauthorsofthisworkhave beenassertedinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. ISBN978-1-85788-513-2 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Tappin,Steve. ThesecretsofCEOs:150globalchiefexecutivesliftthelidonbusiness,life,andleadership /SteveTappin&AndrewCave. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. 1. Chiefexecutiveofficers.2. Executiveability.3. Executives. I.Cave,Andrew.II.Title. HD38.2.T372008 658.4'2--dc22 2008032051 BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Acataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromthe BritishLibrary. Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval system,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying, recordingand/orotherwisewithoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublishers.Thisbook maynotbelent,resold,hiredoutorotherwisedisposedofbywayoftradeinanyform, bindingorcoverotherthanthatinwhichitispublished,withoutthepriorconsentofthe publishers. PrintedintheUKbyClaysLtd onForestStewardshipCouncilcertifiedpaper. CONTENTS Foreword by Sir Richard Branson vii Thank You xi The CEOs xiii Introduction 1 1 The Real Lives of CEOs 10 PART I: FACING UP TO THE FACTS OF LIFE 21 2 Profiting from Hard Globalization 22 3 Decoding Sustainability 48 4 Surfing the Third Wave of theWeb 74 5 Coping with the CapitalCrunch 97 6 Waging the First World War forTalent 114 PART II: LEADING AT THE TOP TODAY 141 7 CommercialExecutors 145 8 FinancialValue Drivers 158 9 Corporate Entrepreneurs 169 10 Corporate Ambassadors 181 11 Global Missionaries 193 PART III: LEADING INTO THE FUTURE 211 12 Ditching Command andControl 212 13 Preparing toLead 244 14 Heeding the CEOHealth Warning 266 Epilogue:Why Not You? 287 Notes 289 Index 295 FOREWORD by Sir Richard Branson I mustadmitI’mnotagreatreaderofbusinessbooks.Tobehonest, whenwestartedVirginalmost40yearsagonowwetotallyignored the established business theories and strategies and struck out determined to do things differently. There weren’t any business books where actual CEOs, from a range of different organizations, shared real experiences and lessons learnt with people just starting out.Iwishtherehadbeen–perhapsImighthavesavedmyselfafew headachesalongtheway! Let’s face it, the world is constantly changing – no big surprise there–butthesheerpaceofthatchangecanbestaggering,confusing anddownrightterrifyingattimes.SteveandAndyhaveidentifiedthe newfactsoflifethatmostbusinessesarehitbyonadailybasis,espe- cially hard globalization, sustainability and the war for talent. The developmentsontheinternet,particularlywhenitcomestoreaching out to your customers with new and interactive content, fascinate andtotally baffle me. I hadn’t gotten my head around Web 2.0 when someone in my team told me not to worry about it, that was yester- dayandtodaywe’relookingatWeb3.0! Hard globalization is a reality for Virgin. I have always had the dream that Virgin would one day become one of the world’s most respected brands. As we expand outside of the UK across America, India,Australia,Asia,andtheMiddleEast,Ifeelthatdreamisgetting closertobecomingareality.Buthardglobalizationbringswithitvery specificchallengesandTheSecretsofCEOshighlightsmanyofthese. Allbusinesses needtobeawareoftheir globalfootprint. One of the most impressive developments within businesses todayisthebeliefthattotrulybecomeasuccessful,thrivingcompany (whether that be a firm of 10 or a global organization employing viii THESECRETSOFCEOs 50,000people)youhavetoplacecorporateresponsibilityandsustain- ability at the heart of your business. As recently as ten years ago this wasunheardof.Everylargebusinesshadacharitablefoundation,but this was seen very much as a “nice to do” rather than a core strategy within your organization. Customers expect the companies they are purchasingfromtoactinanethical,sustainableway.Asbusinesslead- ers it is crucial we repay that trust by going the extra mile to ensure best practice at all times. On a global level, the behavior of people, industries,andenterpriseshasimmediateandoftenlong-termeffects onourworld.Ifmankindmakesamistake,itcanbecatastrophic. IbelievethatitisuptocompanieslikeVirgintoleadthewaywith a holistic approach to business. It was this belief that led me a few years ago to pledge Virgin Group’s profits from our transportation businessesoverthenexttenyears(approximately$3billion)toclean energyinitiatives.Ihopethatthroughthestridesforwardthatourair- line and transport companies across the world continue to initiate, trial, and invest in – successes such as our most recent biofuel trails on Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains – other airlines and transport businesses will also follow suit. When all businesses put sustainabil- ityattheheartofwhattheydo,wewillseearadicallypositivechange in the impact we have on our planet. I believe that day is not too far away. IwasheartenedtoreadPartIIIofthisbook.ForalongtimeIhave been drawn to the Gaia theory, a hypothesis formulated by James Lovelock almost 40 years ago, which states that the Earth is a living entity, like a single cell. This way of thinking can apply to business too.Ihaveneverbeenafanofcommandandcontrolandbelievethat theauthors’modelofacell-likeorganizationcouldbeareallypower- ful way of running a business in the future. I have always believed that one of my strengths has been my ability to trust the people around me 100 percent and to be able to truly delegate responsibilty tothemanagersofourbusinesses.Youcannotexpectthosewhoyou rely on to run your companies every day to really put their neck out and go that extra mile if you do not give them a sense of ownership. Letthemmakemistakes,supportthemthroughthebadandthegood FOREWORD ix times,andinstillinthemasensethatyourbusinessistheirbusiness –andmostimportantly,meanit. Yourpeopleareeverything–withoutthemyoudon’thaveabusi- ness! This book touches on this very point throughout, whether it is delegation,ensuringyouencouragecreativityandinnovation,orsim- plylettingyourhairdownwithyourstaffandhavingsomefun.Ican handonheartsayIamonlyoneofmanyentrepreneursatVirgin.We employ like-minded people who love to innovate and challenge the norm.ToquotemygoodfriendStephenMurphy,whoyou’llhearalot more from in this book, “We employ rock climbers, not people who needladders.”AtVirginitisthiscreativityandtheabilitytochallenge the norm that mark us out from the rest and ensure we continue to grow. Employing the best people who will not only be loyal to your companybutarealsonotafraidtochallengeitwhenthingsbecomea bitstaidisthebest waytoensureyoustayaheadofthecurve. At Virgin we not only know how to work hard, we know how to party hard! It was great to see that many of the other CEOs inter- viewed for this book remind us that working is meant to be fun. We spend most of our lives working: what a shame it would be if you’re spending that time doing something you hate. Even when things get abitrockyyoucanstilllearnfromit.Hadabaddayorweek?Takethe teamoutandhavesomefun.It’samazinghowalittledowntimegives you a new perpective on what you thought was an insurmountable problem. Naturally,andmore’sthepity,itcan’tallbeparty,party,party–so check out Chapter 13 on building a career. I agree in the future the best thing is not to be limited by traditional corporate careers but to be clear on what you want from life and get as much varied experi- ence as you can pack in. I still get some of my best and most memo- rable experiences from setting up and launching new businesses around the world – that’s probably why I can’t stop doing it! I was glad to see that the authors recommend this as a great way to learn. Readandenjoy... I’llendasSteveandAndy do,byasking: Whynotyou?
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