Memo to a new CEO: veteran Larry Bossidy explains what it takes to succeed in today's changing climate - 2003 Route to the Top

Chief Executive, The, March, 2003 by Larry Bossidy

Congratulations on your new job! I know you're excited about the opportunity to exercise your leadership at the highest level. And I'm sure you're a little nervous about settling into what's turned out to be the hottest seat in the ballpark. If you've paid any attention over the past year, you know that when it comes to tenure rates, CEOs are beginning to rival NFL coaches.

Even as the job has gotten harder, expectations have been raised by all constituents, from your board of directors to your employees to analysts on Wall Street. A study of 850 companies over 12 years indicates that CEOs in the 1990s were three times more likely to be ousted as they were in the '80s for the same level of performance. In today's tough opinion arena, this trend will only increase.

The competitive environment is tougher, too. For the first time, we're seeing the unpleasant manifestations of a global economy: oversupply of some products, speedier commoditization of others and reduced pricing power. It used to be that if you had a breakthrough product, you could depend on it being sustained for a number of years. Now, serious competitors follow suit faster than ever.

Success today is not simply about leading anymore. It's about the discipline of creating, energizing and sustaining an integrated business system. It must be about implementing, not just announcing, strategies.

First and foremost, you've got to be more self-aware. It's crucial to be humble. People with big egos don't listen, and if you don't listen, you'll be disenfranchised faster today than before. There's no time to pat yourself on the back for what you did yesterday; you've got to keep your ego in check to stay in tune with what needs to be done tomorrow.

You have to be willing to develop people. It isn't just a question of whether you have good people or not, important as that is. It's a question of whether you create an environment in which people can grow. When you look at a person in a given job, do you see the characteristics that will allow him or her to grow into the next job, or the next two jobs? You have to nurture a workplace that enables them to understand what it's going to take to move up and develop the skills they need to grow into those jobs.

You can grow in this job, too, or your head can swell. The job itself will keep evolving: the market changes, the competition changes and the products might be different. The result is that the job you take on Day 1 is not the job you will have in Year 3. If you're not willing to understand your own limitations and deal with them, you will never correct them. If you can avoid thinking, "I had a good year, so now I know everything," your chances for longevity will be improved.

I know that many chief executives these days feel as if they're walking through a minefield every day. Many senior executives have second thoughts about taking the next step up in an organization. It is a more demanding job these days, there's no denying it.

But you shouldn't shy away from it just because of these things. I think being a CEO is still the most rewarding job you can get in business. You just need to be prepared for what is involved.

Larry Bossidy, former Honeywell, AlliedSignal CEO