What does Sudden Impact mean?
Sudden Impact literally means how quickly a new executive can make a solid contribution – i.e. impact – on the new job. From interviewing the CEOs in my book, I discovered that Sudden Impact has multiple meanings depending on the particular situations each executive faced as they came into their new positions.
How can the average manager integrate your message into their lives?
I believe that Sudden Impact reveals that successful CEOs face the same challenges and heartbreaks that we all do. Through these stories, we learn that the human spirit is capable of accomplishing many things, and it’s not so different at the top.
How were you able to gain access to these CEOs and get them to be
so candid?
I was very fortunate to know some of the CEOs personally, or was within two degrees of separation from them. For the others, I used my sales skills and “cold called” them. They were much more accessible than most people think. I believe they were so candid for two reasons: I asked them questions no one else had ever asked; I really listened to what they said.
The CEOs interviewed don’t fit the mold of the arrogant, glamorous CEO. Do you think they represent most CEOs in today’s businesses?
A new breed of CEOs seems to be emerging. The media is starting to cover this shift. The July 24, 2006 Fortune magazine cover story contrasts the Old-CEO-Rules from the Jack Welch days with the New-CEO-Rules of today. The article says—gone are the days of the celebrity CEO and now are the days of the charismatic CEOs that led in a new way. Given the negative publicity of Enron, the Carly debacle and other challenges facing CEOs, I see new CEOs are adopting a more humble and human approach to leadership.
Is there one story that really touched you and changed your opinion of CEO jobs?
The stories that touched and surprised me the most were those that revealed how these men and women made decisions, faced unforeseen obstacles, and discovered imaginative ways to get out of tough situations. For example,
….Ed Zander was most influenced by his blind 90-year old mother in deciding to join Motorola,
…Andrew Liveris described the rhythm of his multi-national Dow Chemical as a jungle drum band – each instrument alone sounding dissonant but coming together to produce an incredible sound
…Pat Russo who thought she was returning to her former company to execute strategy only to find herself scrambling to keep the bottom from dropping out of Lucent or,
…most poignantly, Dave Vander Zanden taking over the reins of School Specialty upon the death of the former CEO – and his best friend.
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