A recent study was conducted on the S&P 500 companies’ CEOs to understand what exactly makes some of them exceptional. The study encompassed this substantial sample, but focused on the top five percent who had managed to steer their companies’ shareholder returns by more than five-hundred percent. Three lessons emerged as pivotal in establishing these leaders in the top positions of the chart. Firstly, it was realized that most of them were outsiders. External hires were twice more likely to take the bold decisions as they could steer clear of internal politics more easily. These top CEOs were also adept at maintaining organizational balance. When they became CEOs, they had several options to choose from to convey digital transformation. They could have opted for cost-reduction programmes, mergers or acquisitions, geographic expansion, new product launch, managerial reshuffle or even an organizational redesign. But most significantly, they chose to opt for a review of the corporate strategy. This does require some trade-offs such as cost-cutting in low-priority projects to free up resources.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/what-makes-a-ceo-exceptional?cid=other-eml-ttn-mkq-mck-oth-1712

Uploaded Date:06 February 2018