The "use-by-date" of a CEO LO10057

Keith Cowan (72212.51@CompuServe.COM)
18 Sep 96 21:11:53 EDT

Replying to LO9986 --

John.ONeill@dsto.defence.gov.au asks:

>How do you keep an organisation healthy and retain the ability to cycle
>through different CEOs at different points in a organisations life?

I would suggest that an external transition is what prompts the change.
The management practices in a monopoly utility are different than those in
an unregulated competitive industry. All the fat and waste has to go. This
will entail an overshoot because it will take some pain to establish the
staffing level that is not too large.

Then the gunslinger will move on with pockets stuffed with cash and they
will recruit a longer term thinker who will build up competence again.
This happened here with Northern Telecom in Dallas (Nashville & DC) - Jean
Monty is rebuilding their competence. It is pretty heuristic and wasteful
but then, when board members start to understand the future, we will be
able to avoid it. This process of moving the board into a learning
position is a long shot given management's desire to keep them out of the
proverbial pants.

A few boards are lucky to get an adaptable CEO but this is an exception.
For the fun of it! ... Keith (right Scott?)

-- 

Keith Cowan <72212.51@CompuServe.COM>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>