1: “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger and one represents opportunity,” John F. Kennedy once said.

Yesterday, we explored how the best CEOs create a small team of senior leaders to deal directly with the crisis.  This prevents the CEO from becoming all-consumed by the situation and enables the rest of the organization to continue to get work done.   … continue reading

1: Imagine being the captain of a battleship. A torpedo has hit the ship. 

Now what?

“Send a portion of their crew to contain the hull breach,”  Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra write in their book  CEO Excellence.

The captain, however, “stays on the bridge, increases speed to full, and deploys the rest of the crew to keep fighting the war.”

The best CEOs take … continue reading

1: “It’s ten years out, and Netflix is a failed firm. Estimate the probabilities of the different causes.”

That’s the exercise Netflix CEO Reed Hastings poses to his leadership team. 

“Let’s say one cause is that a plane crash takes out Netflix’s headquarters,” Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra write in their book  CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.… continue reading

1: It was January of 2014. Mary Barra was in her early days as CEO of General Motors when a major crisis hit. The carmaker had been implicated in a number of fatal crashes due to faulty ignition switches.

“When you have a crisis, it’s not like you know the significance of it immediately,” she recalls in CEO Excellence by McKinsey consultants Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram … continue reading

David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, was among the first executives to embrace the power of purpose.

Back in 1960, talking to HP’s training group, he said: “I want to discuss why a company exists in the first place,” he began.

“In other words, why are we here? I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a … continue reading

1: Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning has sold over ten million copies and been translated into twenty-four languages.

It’s not your typical best-seller, however.  

The topic? Viktor’s experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps.

“Wondering why some prisoners survived and others didn’t in an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair, he concluded that those who made it lived with a greater sense of purpose,” Carolyn Dewar, Scott … continue reading

1: “Most companies don’t execute well,” says JPMC CEO Jamie Dimon. “This is about execution and getting disciplined, like it’s exercise. It’s about getting to the specifics, looking at the right measures and making the right decisions.”

Yesterday, we looked at the importance of metrics and analytics.  The next important lever is leading team meetings.  It starts with setting expectations for attendance.

“Unless you’re in the hospital or … continue reading

1: Imagine taking our seat at a classical music concert. We arrive early, and the orchestra is warming up.  

“And it’s a very unpleasant noise because they’re all doing their own flourishes,” observes U.S. Bancorp CEO Richard Davis in CEO Excellence by  Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra.

“Suddenly, they stop,” Richard describes. “And then out of stage right comes a human being holding nothing more … continue reading

1: When Mary Barra became CEO of General Motors in 2014, she immediately faced a crisis that would shape her leadership philosophy.

At least 124 people were dead because of a faulty ignition issue with General Motors’s cars. The company had been aware of the problem for more than a decade.  

Mary responded quickly. More than 29 million cars were ultimately recalled.

There was, however, a more significant learning for … continue reading

1: “The Tour de France is one of the world’s most grueling sporting events,” McKinsey consultants Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra write in their book  CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.

“Over three summer weeks,” they note, “about twenty teams with eight riders each push themselves to the limit, pedaling through two thousand miles of terrain including … continue reading