Today's CEO job is shorter, more intense, and more globally consistent across regions. In just the past decade, boards have shaved nearly two years off the typical CEO's tenure; chief executives today have a little over six years to make their mark. And fewer are being awarded the chairman's title when they come into office-12 percent versus 48 percent as recently as 2002. The CEO is evermore accountable to his board (“his” because the fact remains that 96 percent of incoming CEOs last year were men). Bottom line: The room for error is smaller, which makes getting it right the first time all the more crucial. Booz & Company, which recently completed its 10th annual study on CEO turnover among the world's largest 2,500 public companies analyzed 3,617 succession events since 2000 globally. In the Middle East region, turnover was recorded at a slightly higher level than the global average due to two contradictory dynamics. CEOs' restructuring plans were heavily triggered by the world recession after years of economic boom, but due to the faster recovery that the Middle East region is experiencing, more former CEOs are stepping into other business roles. Booz & Company has found there are four “game changers” for succeeding in the CEO suite. First, do only what only the CEO can do. The CEO's job has become all consuming, so it's imperative that CEOs delegate. Let others do the rest of the company's work. The job of the CEO is unique. He or she must be rigorous in selecting the issues to address, and focus on doing what no one else can do. In our experience, that boils down to four imperatives: 1) shape the company's definition of success; 2) break the frame of the company's historic business model; 3) reset expectations of what is possible; and 4) integrate the parts with the whole. Second, CEOs must engage the board as a strategic partner. Effective CEOs tend to practice a corporate version of the Golden Rule: When engaging the board, they do unto it as they would have their business units do unto them. CEOs want their business leaders to be transparent about the strategic issues they face and the alternatives they are considering; the board wants the same from the CEO. This is especially important if the CEO is not the chair of the board. Given the pressure now being placed on boards, and the level of accountability expected from them, board members need to take part in the strategic conversation as it develops. CEOs need to encourage the board to challenge the company's direction - and their own strategic decisions. Third is aligning the culture behind a clear strategy. Incoming CEOs need to address business priorities and change in ways that the organization can realistically accommodate. Understanding how the culture influences both formal and informal behaviors is therefore essential. In the past, CEOs typically thought of culture change in terms of formal constructs such as vision, strategy, programs, metrics, and structure. But an overemphasis on the formal overlooks the importance of informal interactions such as networks, peer-to-peer relationships, work norms and habits, information and resource flow, and communities of interest. Leveraging these mechanisms is integral to achieving lasting change. The CEO also must set the pace for change within a company, the fourth game-changer. This entails first defining what must change, and then determining which changes must take place quickly and which will take more time. Setting the pace is a judgment call that requires understanding how quickly customers, competitors, and employees can absorb and adapt to change. Every CEO faces a learning curve; making premature pronouncements about forthcoming changes can create anxiety and resistance. Yet moving too slowly also presents dangers, undermining essential momentum and providing the competition with an opportunity to pull ahead. CEOs today must skillfully and forcefully articulate not only what must be done, but the stages in which essential change will take place. The heroic figure who used to rule over the company and the board for decades is quickly becoming an anachronism. Today's CEO is a team player, a consensus builder and a pragmatist who works with the board and the senior management team rather than dictating to either. Not surprisingly, he is four times out of five an insider, having risen through the ranks within the company before assuming the reins. It is clear that the skill of “strategic engagement” will become increasingly critical as CEOs reconcile the needs of various vocal constituencies in plotting a clear path forward. CEOs have less time to make their mark and create their legacy, and boards have less time to plan a smooth transition to the next administration. That places a premium on effective internal leadership development and succession planning; Booz & Company's research demonstrates that the performance cost of going outside to find a CEO is relatively high. Because a CEO's time in office is shrinking, the importance of getting it right the first time is mounting. “It” is: doing only what only a CEO can do; engaging the board as a strategic partner; getting the culture aligned behind a clear strategy; and setting the right pace of change for the organization. By following this simple primer, CEOs can enjoy more of their limited time at the top enjoying the view. - The writer is chairman of Booz & Company __
