To those of you who are CEOs, I suggest you take a break from your busy schedule to contemplate your leadership epitaph. As sure as the sun rises and falls, every CEO’s tenure atop an organization will come to an end. How you will be remembered is not the issue. The real question is: how will you judge your performance when the CEO afterlife arrives. Will your epitaph resemble that of Jack Bighead or Andy Goodfellow?
When I searched online for content on business proverb lies and mistruths I was amazed by the digital library’s breadth and depth. The myths apply to business in general, as well as specific industries, start-ups and the new economy. And while proverbs come and go, some are perennials – the most recurring being those that have been around for so long they’re engrained as truth – no one thinks to question them.
I retired from the CEO’s office in 1994 and from strategy and marketing consulting in 2008. Other than a casual Facebook page with a couple of dozen friends, I knew little of social media until I discovered Twitter in February, 2011. That led to periodic posts on this blog. Thanks to social media, I’m re-engaged. I’m fascinated by the marketing opportunities afforded by the digital network and I’m impressed with the results achieved by the new medium’s best marketers. Back in my CMO days, I would have had a field day with social media. Why?
The sudden, unexpected and potentially catastrophic event that threatens a business is a CEO’s greatest challenge. Ever since the Tylenol tampering recall of 30 years ago, the performances of companies in crisis have come under public scrutiny. The entire world was touched by the most environmentally destructive business crisis of all time – BP’s oil spill in the Gulf. Everyone watched as CEO Tony Hayward made blunder after blunder while BP’s crude killed. Three weeks after the explosion, Hayward called the spill “relatively tiny” in comparison with the size of the ocean – 6 weeks later he said he’d like his life back, and 6 weeks after that, BP’s shell-shocked Board finally put him out of his misery.
The day the Jacobs Suchard (now part of Kraft Foods) Board of Directors promoted me to the C-Suite, they strongly suggested I align myself with the CFO. The advice proved excellent, and for the rest of my days in the corner office I was joined at the hip with an outstanding finance executive who is now the CFO of Lindt & Sprüngli, the world’s leading chocolatier. My regret is that I did not free up my other hip for Human Resources, a group of eager young managers at the rear of the functional pecking order.
What is the definition of strategy? Elementary question, you say. Here is the elementary answer. Strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a defined goal. There are all sorts of strategies in today’s business – at the top is corporate strategy, followed by a slew of functional and sub-functional strategies ranging from marketing to waste management. Frankly, strategy is overused and misused; the word is tossed around corporate boardrooms with reckless abandon. Tactics are often misconstrued as strategies. So are goals. Ever heard this? “Our strategy is to become the biggest and the best.” Articulating how a company will become the biggest and the best is the strategy. And that strategy can be good or bad.
Back in February, I started blogging. My intent was to write about business, life and writing - 30 posts later, I’ve managed but one post on life (Lessons from 9-year Olds) and one on writing (Branding the Aspiring Novelist). Today’s musing is about life, and it is personal – a reflection of a special time and a special place. Two months have passed since my 65th birthday. I feel different. Rather than looking ahead, I’m glancing over my shoulder into the past . . . feeling a little melancholic and wondering where all those years have gone. 
A couple of years ago, Advertising Age published an impressive 20-page tribute to L’Oreal, entitled 100 Years of Celebrating Beauty. The piece described a passionate marketing company who has believed in the power of advertising and branding for most of its 100 years. Over those years, the L’Oreal moniker has become synonymous with the image of the quintessential Parissiene – upscale, exclusive and aspirational.
I’m going to admit at the outset that I’m not a stock market expert. In fact, I pay little attention to the daily moves of the market or the individual stocks in my portfolio. For those of you still with me, here’s my quick take on the current market meltdown – or should I say marketing meltdown?
Those of you who have followed my blog have an idea of how I’m spending my time as a retired CEO. I’m working – not for money, for fun. Beyond my recreational life (weapons of choice being a tennis racquet or a golf club - on a good day I use both), I’m writing about business leadership, branding and life. I’ve also written a historical novel, although I’m still trying to find a publisher who isn’t afraid to invest in a newbie, grey-haired writer in a market going through drastic change. Bottom line, I love a challenge and I’m every bit as goal-oriented as I was thirty years ago.