“The leaders we need for tomorrow’s global companies will have a different mindset from much of what we see today. They will be:
_ Wider and deeper in how they define business focus - with a global as well as a very local understanding of the world, and so sensitive to the widely diverse people in the organisation (origins, cultures and belief systems), the different societies in which the company operates and the different governmental regimes under whose laws
and regulations the company produces, competes and serves customers.
_ Multigenerational in outlook - thinking about the long-term impact of decisions made by people in the company on societies, environments and livelihoods.
_ True to the core values which are embedded in the organisation. Like a mountaineer’s rope these allow much more delegated responsibility, independent decision-taking and risk-taking. And the values will be a magnet to the best talent and strong enough to absorb and include the different ways of seeing the world within the corporate community.”
Fields Wicker-Miurin, Co-founder and Partner, Leaders’ Quest.
In BP there is a focus through executive education on ‘statecraft and diplomacy’ - defined as the ability to engage in an informed and constructive way in public policy debate on issues relevant to the business. This involves developing the ability to discern quickly what is relevant in current affairs and act decisively on that understanding. For example in 1997, BP’s then Group Chief Executive, John Browne made a speech at Stanford Business School in which he acknowledged the seriousness of climate change and the likelihood that carbon emissions were the major cause, and committed BP to do what it could to limit its carbon emissions and develop alternative fuels. He did so in the teeth of opposition from many of BP’s competitors but by doing so helped to transform the debate.
In ‘The Chrysalis Economy’, one of the leaders profiled by John Elkington is Dee Hock, founder of VISA, who relished operating in an uncertain and complex world. He invented the term ‘the chaordic age’ to describe the current era with its combination of chaos and order. Hock’s vision of an organisation which could succeed in such an environment was that of a “self-organizing, self-governing, adaptive, nonlinear, complex organism, organization, community or system, whether physical, biological or social, the behaviour of which harmoniously blends characteristics of both chaos and order.” VISA evolved as just such a business, being owned by 22,000 member banks, competing with each other for customers yet co-operating by honouring one another’s transactions.68
Andrew Gould, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Schlumberger, said of his predecessor Euan Baird that he had the intellectual curiosity to be both an innovator and a formidable critic, constantly questioning accepted wisdom. “It is very hard to be both a leader and a rebel but Euan manages this better than anyone I have ever met.” 69
A former CEO at ABB, Jurgen Doorman, set a new tone when he took over the company at a time of crisis. He was a values-oriented, humble, clearthinking leader. One of the ways he expressed this was in a weekly email to all employees. He told them in a clear, no holds-barred manner why the company was in crisis, and what the challenges and remedies were. He also invited and received considerable feedback.
Julio Moura, Chairman and CEO of GrupoNueva, went to New York in December 2005 to raise money on the markets. He put a slide in his presentation about his company’s commitment to corporate sustainability, despite the initial objections of his bankers. In over 40 meetings with analysts, only two asked him about the slide, demonstrating that it caused little concern but enabled Moura to present this aspect of his
company’s approach.70
“Of course diversity in background is important. In our top 200 people we have 17 different passports. This helps you create an atmosphere of dialogue and also confrontation in which there is a battle for the best, not a hierarchy. You get more accessibility this way which is important to me. Anyone can email me. I answer them all myself. I walk around with my blackberry and I respond fast - hundreds every day. Lots of them are about how the engineer did not show up. But others are about concerns about policy.” Ben Verwaayen, CEO, BT.71
“So if we think about where we're going to end up after a half century of peace and prosperity, what could we say about the talent pool? First of all, it will be dominantly Asian. It will be focused on new knowledge, new services, and be highly innovative. It will be diverse. It will have many different ages, including very, very, very, old age.” Peter Schwartz, Chairman of the Global Business Network.72
“A great example of where future collaboration is not only possible, but essential to success is in efforts to address harmful alcohol consumption. The World Health Organisation began looking at the public health aspects of alcohol in 2005 and requested consultations with a number of stakeholders, including industry. The industry has itself got together across spirits and beer and producers, and we recently had the CEOs of 16 global alcohol producers talking about the risks and opportunities. For the first time we had the good guys and the bad guys talking together. We were saying to some of the laggards in our industry, look if we are arguing for self-regulation we had better do something about it.” Sue Clark, Corporate Affairs Director, SAB Miller.73
Infosys’s strategy has been driven through consensus by a leadership team that has been together for many years. Nandan Nilekani, Co-Chairman of Infosys says: “We have a congruence, a commonality of approach and a collective vision. There may be subtle changes when leaders change but it is not like in western countries where there is a huge change. It is more collegial and organic.” 74 Nandan Nilekani moved from his post as CEO at the age of 52 to become Co-Chairman to encourage new talent.
G V Prasad, CEO and Vice Chairman of Dr Reddy’s, has estimated that the CEO, COO, and other top managers in his company typically dedicate more than 20% of their time to recruitment, training, and employee development. “Despite the vast availability of talent, the biggest challenge is to get leadership. It is not difficult to get 100 PhDs. But where are those five leaders who can shape their efforts?” 75
“A leader is best when people barely know that he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worst when they despise him. Fail to honour people, they fail to honour you. But of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aims fulfilled, they will all say ‘We did this ourselves’. ”
Lao Tzu in Tao Te Ching