in
Forums
What should a CEO do for their O3?
I'm a believer is O3's, a MT listener for 3-4 years, and a recent EM/EC conference attendee, but I recently finished that left me wondering what does management look like at the top.
The thesis of the book is that these executives achieved exceptional results for their shareholders by hiring great talent to lead their businesses and subsidiary companies, scrutinizing annual budgets, investing capital only where it would make a sizable return, opportunistically repurchasing stock and buying/selling divisions, and rarely talking with the leaders of their various business or companies unless they weren't meeting their numbers.
While the case is compelling and there is the argument that successful leaders are also relatively independent, I'm wondering what others in the forum have found to be effective and realistic.
------------------
The book is The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William N. Thorndike and published by HBR Press. It profiles CEO's who achieved better returns than Jack Welch - names like Tom Murphy with Capital Cities Broadcasting, Henry Singleton with Teledyne, John Malone with TCI, Katherine Graham with the Washington Post, and of course Warren Buffett.
Thanks, -Chris Gammill