There was a lot of mail from people that didn’t understand the
CEO’s snake comment a while back about his not being afraid of personal embarrassment
and how that opened up a lot of opportunities for him and his company, which is
very large and successful.
The underlying issue is normal vs. extraordinary performance
and it's the same in a military or commercial battle. Slow, steady gains come from
solid, methodical performance. And that's great. However, big gains often require audacity and if they go wrong, well, it can
be humiliating to the CEO. So CEOs often take a pass on such moves, taking the safer
route instead. That said, a great CEO never forgets he or she is a servant of the
stakeholders. Sometimes he or she MUST take chances and vanity should be the last
thing on their mind.
“The general (CEO) who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country (the company and employees) and do good service for his sovereign (chairman), is the jewel of the kingdom (equity holders).” Sun Tzu
An old battlefield saying forgotten by many (R.I.P.) dot.com
CEOs in the early days of the Internet: "The
easy way is always mined."
Think about it…
