The Secrets of CEOs: 150 Global Chief Executives Lift the Lid on Business, Life and Leadership

321 Pages·2008·1.81 MB·English

by  Steve Tappin

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
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ISBN978-1-85788-513-2
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Tappin,Steve.
ThesecretsofCEOs:150globalchiefexecutivesliftthelidonbusiness,life,andleadership
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p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
1. Chiefexecutiveofficers.2. Executiveability.3. Executives. I.Cave,Andrew.II.Title.
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2008032051
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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?