The Hindu Business Line : A `C' list for CEOs

The legendary Lee Iacocca is outraged. "We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind," he fumes in `Where Have All The Leaders Gone?' (www.landmarkonthenet.com)

At 82, Lee, the iconic auto boss, is fit and fighting; he is willing to "leave the rage to the young people," as soon as he can "pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention."

The book begins with a `C' list for the CEOs. The first C that a leader needs is curiosity. "He has to listen to people outside of the `Yes, sir' crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place."

A leader who never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas grows stale, cautions Lee. "The inability to hear is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care."

The second C is creativity. A leader has to "go out on a limb, be willing to try something different," exhorts Lee. "Things change, and you get creative. You adapt."

Communication comes next. This is not just "running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites," but "facing reality and telling the truth... even when it's painful." That demands another C, character - "knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing."

For this, the leader needs `courage' - not swagger or tough talk, nor posturing or bravado. "Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk," explains Lee. "If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost your votes."

Also on the list are: Conviction (fire in the belly), charisma (ability to inspire), competency (knowing what you are doing), and common sense (the Charlie Beacham's rule: "If you don't know a dip of horse**** from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it.")

The biggest C, according to Lee, is crisis. Because leaders are made, not born. "Leadership is forged in times of crisis."

Compelling read.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali

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A `C' list for CEOs