Leadership In A time of Crisis

SpotlightVolume 7, Issue 2

March 2009

In This Issue >

This is a different kind ofSpotlight from any we’vepublished previously. We’vechosen to focus this editionon a single subject of criticalconcern to all of us – thechallenge of Leadership InA Time of Crisis.

Not since World War II havewe experienced economicconditions like these. Formerpresidential advisor DavidGergen uses the term “per-fect storm” to describe theeconomic tsunami that hascome crashing down on virtually all markets andsectors around the world.And though some may saythey saw the tsunami com-ing, it exploded and spreadwith bewildering speed.

The Internet has removedthe protective barrier of dis-tance. Globalization hasconnected formerly isolatedmarkets and geographies,transforming them into inter-

dependent cogs in real-timeglobal ecosystems.

Once it was a cliché, butnow it is true: a sneeze inSão Paulo causes a cold inShanghai. Suddenly, all overthe world, even the best runcompanies are watchingcore customers disappearand credit dry up. Entireindustries are in retreat.

In crisis it is the charge ofleadership to guide organi-zations to calmer seas, sus-tainable strategies, andrenewed profitability. But theseverity of this crisis raisesimportant questions for allthose involved in assuringthat organizations have theleadership they need.

The questions to considerare: Is the current leader-ship able to handle the job?Are new resourcesrequired? What are thecharacteristics of leaders

who succeed in toughtimes? What kind ofchanges must be made and how fast? What are thestrategies proven successfulby experience?

This is a global crisis, andBoyden is a global compa-ny, with 70 offices in 40countries. We’ve taken fulladvantage of Boyden’s global network, engagingexemplary leaders from vir-tually every continent to helpanswer these critical ques-tions. In addition we’vereached out to thought leaders such as ProfessorDavid Gergen, currentlyDirector of The Center forPublic Leadership atHarvard, and to JosephDaniel McCool, author of Deciding Who Leadsand a BusinessWeekContributing Editor.

We think you’ll be interestedand surprised by theanswers.

Managing crisis is part ofthe job of leadership. It isnot the only job of leader-ship. But there is always a“crisis” of some kind goingon somewhere in virtuallyany organization or marketor industry. It has even beensuggested that some crisisis healthy.

The crisis may be internal orit may be external. It is thejob of leadership to preparefor crisis. To analyze it. Andto activate the organization,

Message

From the

Editor

Leadership in aTime of Crisis

P. 1

The Challenges andOpportunities of Crisis

P. 5

Message From the Editor

“We want people who will be resourcefuland productive…good times or bad. In ourview leadership for bad times ought to startin good times.”

Jules Kieser, Managing Partner Boyden South Africa

I. Leadership in a Time of Crisis

DistinguishingCharacteristics ofSuccessful Leaders

P. 9

“There are many sectors facing real diffi-culties…we know this is part of a cycle.But it may not be just temporary. Whatwe’re seeing now may be the way it willbe from now on.”

John Ellis, Managing Director Boyden UK


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initially to limit damage, butalso to leverage new oppor-tunities a crisis creates.

If a crisis becomes bigenough, however, and ifconditions are dangerousenough, having people inplace with the ability to leadand manage during extremeconditions becomes critical.Leadership becomes, infact, an absolute necessity ifthe organization is to remainviable.

While crisis is normal, thereis nothing normal abouttoday’s crisis. “There aremany sectors facing real dif-ficulties and we know this ispart of a cycle,” says JohnEllis, Managing Director ofBoyden UK. “But the speedwith which it's happening isscary," explains Ellis.“Companies now want can-didates who have alreadyhad experience goingthrough a massive changeprogram. That is no longer anice to have. That is now amust have.”

Even Ram Charan, thepragmatic business guruwho mentors CEOs formany of the world’s largestcompanies, has soundedthe alarm. Discussing hisnew book Leadership in theEra of EconomicUncertainty withBusinessWeek, Charandescribes global economicconditions as equivalent to“a hundred year flood.”Scientists use this classifi-cation to describe a danger-ous convergence of condi-tions so rare it happensonce a century.

Director of Boyden SouthAfrica. “That is the philoso-phy in developed countries,but not necessarily the bestway to go for emerging mar-kets. In South Africa, it’s bet-ter to hire for the long term.We want people who will beresourceful and productivein tough times, good timesor bad.” Kieser adds, “In ourview leadership for badtimes ought to start in goodtimes.”

As the dominos continue tofall in market after market,there are competing viewsabout what kind of strategieswill turn things around. Butthere are two things almosteverybody agrees on. Thefirst is that this crisis will notbe resolved easily. ObservesJohn Ellis: “We know this ispart of the cycle. But it maynot be just a temporary part.It may be this way from nowon.” The second is that fewgeographies and organiza-tions will escape the effects.Tim McNamara, ManagingDirector for Boyden inWashington, DC says, “Thisis not a U.S. issue. This isabsolutely a global issue.What is happening here ishappening everywhere.”

The real concern, suggestsCharan, is not simply thatconditions are so difficult.The real concern is that wehave no leaders in placetoday who have had theexperience of managing intimes this bad.

As a result, there is a newimperative for organizationsto acquire the leadershipthey need. There needs tobe much greater awarenessof the tough leadership thatis required to keep organi-zations viable in toughtimes. How do requirementschange for leaders alreadyin place? What kind of lead-ership can turn a troubledorganization around? Arethese specialized skills orskills that every leadershould have?

Conventional wisdom is thatcompanies need leaderswith the ability to drivesales, profits and expansionin good times. But in a cri-sis, companies need lead-ers accomplished in reduc-ing cost, conservingresources, and managingday-to-day. “Hire in goodtimes, fire in bad,” saysJules Kieser, Managing


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Advisor to four presidents,David Gergen was amongthe first to write about thecrisis in leadership. Todayhe is an important voice indefining what happenswhen leaders fail and whatto do about it. Now a pro-fessor at Harvard, he isDirector of The Center forPublic Leadership atHarvard’s John F.Kennedy School ofGovernment. Gergen alsoserves as Senior PoliticalAnalyst for CNN and editor-at-large for U.S. News &World Report.

Boyden: Do leaders really matter?

Gergen: Leaders are “the X-factor” that sometimes makes the difference in bringing togeth-er a nation. . . or a company. We have new research from Harvard Business School show-ing that, while CEOs may not be as big a difference in business as some believe, strongerCEOs continually make positive differences, which do add up over time. So does leader-ship make a difference? Absolutely.

Boyden: Given “the perfect storm” of global economic conditions, is the problemthat our leaders have been overwhelmed by impossible circumstances? Or has afailure of leadership helped cause this crisis?

Gergen: There is growing recognition that we have worked ourselves into this crisis overthe last several decades. Living beyond our means, encouraging people to buy housesthey couldn’t afford, and so on. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had some good and greatCEOs. But I think we have to admit fundamentally there has been a failure in leadership.

Boyden: For the last three years you’ve helped run a survey to measure how muchwe trust our leadership in the U.S. What have the results shown?

Gergen: This has been a real eye-opener. In the survey’s first year, 65 percent believed wehad a leadership crisis. Now it’s up to 79 percent. Seventy-nine percent believe we willdecline as a nation unless we get better leaders. And by the way, this last survey was com-pleted before our current economic problems began.

Boyden: Soon you begin a new course in leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School ofGovernment. Given all we’ve witnessed, how will you change what you teach?

Gergen: I’ve been asking myself that same question.

I do believe this is a teaching moment. It is important for the older generation to reach outnow to that next generation of leaders. We need to talk about the mistakes we’ve made.We need to pass on the lessons we’ve learned.

One. Leaders matter. Two. Hubris brings leaders down. There’s no question for me. People(leaders) bring themselves down.

They derail themselves. Like Icarus trying to fly tooclose to the sun, they forgetthe fundamentals.

We do have a wonderful minister at Harvard’sMemorial Church, theReverend Professor Peter J. Gomes, and he put it very well in a sermon recently. He said, “You must master yourself before you can learn to lead others.”

Professor DavidGergen talks abouta loss of trust inleadership andwhat kind of lead-ers our worldneeds now.

Photo: Tom Fitzsimmons

“...people that know how to listendo have an advantage when itcomes to leadership.

Because those are leaders whowill always be learning. Thoseare leaders who will always begrowing. Those are leaders whowill be able to adapt.”


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Boyden: Is today’s world morecomplex and challenging for ourleaders? Should they be leadingdifferently?

Gergen: Today’s world is extraord-narily complex. For example, we arelearning just how much of our eco-nomic problems have to do withglobalization.

First, I think we have to beginpreparing people to live, to work andto lead across multiple sectors – inbusiness, and service and gover-ment. To be prepared to work in anyor in all three in a lifetime.

Second, we have to learn to cooperate and collaborate across boundaries, beyond borders.I think we have to start teaching people to see themselves as citizens of the world.

Not just citizens of a single country, but citizens of the whole world.

Why? Our biggest problems are no longer defined in terms of one place. They are notgoing to stop at a border. The toughest challenges ahead involve the whole world.

Boyden: We now see more centralized control of the economies, more new fundingand new contracts coming from capitals in many countries. What will this mean forour business leaders?

Gergen: I hope this is temporary. We don’t want to swing too far in this direction for toolong.

But it is important for business leaders to learn how government works. It is important forthem to participate. And I don’t mean through lobbyists. I mean business leaders need togo themselves. And get involved.

I can tell you that at least in Washington, we need more people with real business back-grounds. I’d love to see people like Jack Welch (former CEO of General Electric) bringmore private sector skills to run stimulus programs in a business-like way.

Boyden: One last question, David: Is there any kind of “secret ingredient” for greatleadership that nobody talks about?

Gergen: I do think people that are curious and people that know how to listen do have anadvantage when it comes to leadership.

Because those are leaders who will always be learning. Those are leaders who will alwaysbe growing. Those are leaders who will be able to adapt.

To learn more from David Gergen on leadership, visit his website athttp://www.davidgergen.com .

“Our biggest problems areno longer defined in termsof one place. They are notgoing to stop at a border.The toughest challengesahead involve the wholeworld.”


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Crisis is always aboutchange.

Leadership in crisis is aboutmanaging change.

Leadership in extreme crisisultimately is about changingyour business.

Ram Charan believes that anew reality is created duringextreme crisis, with newcustomer requirements.Charan says businessesmust respond to those newrequirements with newmodels, new products, andnew styles of execution. This is not easy for leadersor for the boards that over-see them. But history sug-gests that having to changein response to crisis is notnecessarily a bad thing.

“Crisis is a two way street,”says Joseph DanielMcCool, author of DecidingWho Leads. “Crisis isdestructive and it is con-structive.” Innovation often increases in times of

crisis. The best new business models rise fromthe wreckage and bitter les-sons of older, failed busi-ness models.

Nowhere is this processmore visible than in theSilicon Valley. BobConcannon, ManagerDirector for BoydenChicago, and a veteran of boom, bubble and bustcycles in technology, says“What we’ve seen inCalifornia is that if youknock companies downenough times, it actuallycreates more creativity.”

A classic example is chip-maker Intel. When lowercost competitors from Asiadestroyed the market forIntel’s memory chips, Intelin desperation shifted toprogrammable chips whichcould be adapted for awider range of uses, includ-ing personal computers.Later when business didn’tbuy the more powerful chipsIntel continually developed,

Intel discovered home-usersneeded the extra power formulti-media computers. Andeven though the globalfinancial crisis has forcedcustomers to cut back onbuying products thatdepend on Intel chips, Intelis not cutting back onresearch and development.Instead it is investing heavi-ly in R&D so it will be readywhen demand inevitablygoes back up in the future.

Despite Charan’s concernthat leaders today lack theexperience to manageorganizations through a“100 year economic storm,”there are leaders who havesignificant exposure toextremely volatile economicenvironments. Companiesin emerging markets suchas Brazil and in isolatedgeographies such as SouthAfrica have learned hardlessons in surviving eco-nomic disasters.

John deMarmon Murray,Boyden’s Managing Directorfor Brazil, says that countryoffers a successful modelfor leadership during eco-nomic crisis. Brazil wentwild with hyperinflation from1980 to 1994. Leaders hadto find ways to operatebusinesses profitably eventhough inflation ratesreached as high as 1,000percent annually, and unan-nounced maxi devaluationsplagued balance sheets andcash flows. Today, Brazil’sinflation rate is 6% a year.

“It took tough-minded andskillful leadership to bringBrazil’s economy under

II. The Challenges and the Opportunities of Crisis

“Crisis forces people to look at performance. In fact, lead-ership may be easier in bad times than in good times.When you are leading in bad times, people know timesare bad. People know that changes must be made.”

Brian Renwick, Managing Director Boyden China

“A time like this gives us the opportunity to make the changes we’ve needed to get done.”

Dinesh Mirchandani, Managing DirectorBoyden India

“Crisis is a two waystreet. It is destructiveand it is constructive.”

-Joseph McCool- Author of Deciding

Who Leads


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when performance declinesduring trough economies,Renwick says Chinese com-panies are more likely tocontinue to stick with exist-ing management.

Multinational and U.S. com-panies, of course, aredeeply focused on quarterlyresults. As the current crisisdeeply impacts businessvolume and profitability, andas unemployment soars,you’d assume turn-over ofCEOs and other C-levelexecutives would increase.But surprisingly, that didn’thappen in 2008, at least notin North America.

Richard Jacowitz is SeniorVice President of LiberumResearch, a service used byinvestment bankers and oth-ers to track changes of C-level executives at publiccompanies. Jacowitz saysthat since the United Stateseconomy officially went intorecession in December of2007, turnover of C-levelexecutives has actuallydeclined.

2008 CEO turnover fellnearly 10 percent against2007 figures. CFO turnoverfell 14 percent. Overall C-level turnover was downnearly 15%.

Even more surprising is thatas the global financial crisishas deepened, executiveturnover has continued todecrease. Q1 saw a drop of4.74 percent in C-levelturnover. Turnover in Q2dropped to 8.5 percent, thendropped 23 percent in Q3(against 2007 numbers).And in the most recentquarter, Q4 of 2008, C-level

knowledge. CEO’s and theirFinancial Directors musthave extremely good cashmanagement and hedgingskills.”

South Africa has also hadlots of wide swings andmany crises. As a result,says Boyden’s Jules Kieser,“Leaders here manage withthe memory of bad times inmind. They are more likelyto reserve resources need-ed for survival and recoverylater.” Companies in emerg-ing markets have learnedthey must always be pre-pared to shift operationsand strategies. “Here welead through change all thetime,” emphasizes Kieser.

“Crisis forces people to lookat performance,” observesBrian Renwick, ManagingDirector of Boyden China.But that does not meanleadership will be changed

control,” Murray says. “Theytook the country back to thefinancial fundamentals andkept it there.” For example,in 1981 General Motorssent Rick Wagoner to helpturn GM Brazil around.Wagoner understood cur-rency markets and he shift-ed early to building small,highly efficient cars thatused alternatives fuels likeethanol. (If General Motorshad followed the samestrategy in Detroit, GeneralMotors might have avoidedcurrent financial issues.)Today Brazil is energy-inde-pendent. It enjoys the tenthlargest economy in theworld. And unlike the otherdeveloped giants, Brazil isnot dependent on the U.S.for trade, because it openedup large export markets forsoybeans and iron ore tocountries such as China.Murray says, “Operations inBrazil still requires special


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turnover was 34 percentless than it was in Q4 of2007.

Richard Jacowitz co-writesa blog for Liberum calledManagement As ChangeAgent (http://managemen-taschangeagent.blogspot.com). He recently wrote thatdespite a decline in execu-tive mobility, 2008 still saw“a large number of high pro-file and significant executivechanges…that often impact-ed their [companies’] overallperformance.” Jacowitz sug-gests that corporate man-agement had saved theirown jobs by cutting corpo-rate expenses and headcount, but that Liberumexpected executive turnoverto begin increasing as thecrisis continued to worsenin 2009.

Why are boards not neces-sarily in a hurry to changeout existing management?One answer may lie in arecent study that comparedthe length of CEO tenurewith company performanceexplains why. The longerCEOs stayed in place, thebetter their companies per-form – at least up to tenyears. The paper byProfessor Anthony Williamsof Cass Business School inLondon suggests that afterCEO tenure passes adecade, company resultsmay begin to suffer.(Another interesting obser-vation is that the researchdata shows internallyappointed CEOs may gen-erate slightly better resultsfor companies than exter-nally appointed CEOs.)

In terms of strategy, regard-less of who is leading, sur-vival often dictates thatleaders and teams focus onreducing costs and trimmingactivities that don’t supportthe most core business andbrand. But at the same timeoperations are optimized,leadership must also focuson core business strategiesthat will be need to succeedwhen things turn around.

The opportunity of tomorrowis almost always nascent inthe organizational crisis oftoday. The bad times arethe best time to get readyfor the better times that willfollow. Boyden’s BrianRenwick thinks, “Leadership

may actually be easier inbad times. People knowtimes are bad. People knowthat changes must bemade.”

“A time like this gives us theopportunity to make thechanges we’ve needed toget done.” says DineshMirchandani, ManagingDirector, Boyden India. “Theterrorist attacks in Mumbaihave shaken everything up.Meanwhile with global eco-nomic conditions now beingfelt, everything has justcome to a grinding halt.People are fed up with alack of leadership. They arefinally willing to do some-thing about it.”


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Turning Crisis into aLeadership Opportunity

A paper written by five military officers who attendedHarvard’s Kennedy School of Government provides a blueprint for how to lead through a crisis.

Is there a specific blueprint for leading through a crisis after the unthinkable has happened? A2005 paper written at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government provides a pragmaticand easy-to-understand set of best practices for leading through a crisis.

Five members of the U.S. military researched three different crises in order to document success-ful strategies for leadership in the worst of times. The three incidents included the Johnson &Johnson Tylenol poisonings in 1982, the Malden Mills Fire in 1995, and the 9/11 terrorist attacksin 2001. These were basis for seven strategies described in their paper called “Crisis – ALeadership Opportunity.”

The seven strategies include:1. Lead from the Front 5. Mitigate the Threat2. Focus on the Core Purpose 6. Tell the Story3. Build the Team 7. Profit from the Crisis4. Conduct Continuous Planning

Leading from the front means immediately taking responsibility, being visible, and stayingaccessible. Many Boyden clients, regardless of geography, mention “leading from the front” assomething leaders must do when times are tough.

Focus on the Core Purpose is about establishing the importance of the mission, aligning it withreality, and giving meaning to the effort. Getting a crisis under control is hard and sometimes terrifying work. Controlling a crisis requires turning a company around, and replacing old businessmodels with new. The paper quotes Friedrich Nietzsche as saying “He who has a ‘why’ can bearalmost any ‘how’.”

Build the Team is the central task for any leader, but building and maintaining teams is evenmore important in a crisis. What leaders can do individually is never as important as what leaderscan inspire others to do. Building and maintaining teams involves inspiring trust and assuringtransparency and fairness.

Conduct Continuous Planning because situations don’t stop changing. Churchill said “In wareverything is on the move everywhere continuously.” Leaders must continuously re-evaluate andplan for worse case scenarios. Ram Charan says this is how Dupont, one of his clients, was ableto completely reshape itself around the new economic reality between October of 2008 andJanuary of 2009.

Mitigate the Threat involves taking action quickly. Taking action (along with continuous planning)requires gathering the best data from the best sources available at the time, listening deeply, andthen acting decisively.

Tell the Story emphasizes the importance of communications in leadership. Everybody involvedwants to understand what is happening and why. Telling the story in a simple, understandable,and true way will be effective in focusing and integrating the support of internal teams, externalteams and the community. Leaders should be trained to talk with media and use multiple commu-nications media, including the Internet. Look at how Al Jazeera used Twitter on the Internet toout-communicate Israel among influential groups of Americans.

Profit from the Crisis means moving quickly to seize any opportunity that emerges after thethreat is mitigated. It emphasizes the leaders in crisis situations must continually “prepare for,respond to, and learn from crises.”

While every crisis and every organization may be unique, success in dealing with a crisis almost always leaves an organization and its leadership stronger and better positioned for future success.

(Crisis—A Leadership Opportunity is available for downloading from the Internet through mostsearch engines.)

Getting a crisisunder control ishard and some-times terrifyingwork. Controllinga crisis requiresturning a compa-ny around, andreplacing oldbusiness modelswith new.


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What kind of leader isrequired in times of crisis?Is one kind of person bestsuited to lead in the best oftimes? Is another andentirely different kind ofleader more appropriate tolead in the worst of times?

“Different attributes areneeded in different times,but that doesn’t necessarilymean you need differentleaders,” says Jules Kieserat Boyden Johannesburg.“My feeling is you want thesame person, good times orbad…a person who can seethings coming.”

Dr. Dirk Friederich,Boyden’s Managing Partnerin Frankfurt-Bad Homburg,agrees. “It’s not good tochange your C-level executives. In any case, the most important quality of leadership is character.With character you get loyalty, transparency, andan ability to inspire andbring together the team.”

Though he himself holds a doctorate, Friederichdoesn’t consider educationan issue. “What you’re looking for are entrepre-neurial qualities. A leaderhas to have the ability tolook over the fence. Youwant someone who’s flexible and understands different cultures. In Europewhere we have legal limitson hiring and firing, global-ization is a growing force.The ability to outsource is a big opportunity for handling crisis.”

Tim McNamara, Boyden’sManaging Director forWashington, DC, is clearabout priorities. “The firstthing you need is a strongethical orientation in con-ducting business. Yes, youhave to have someone whowill really focus on enhanc-ing shareholder value,” he

emphasizes, “but theremust be underlying ethics.There needs to be lessgreed, more transparencyand in some situations per-haps a resetting of themoral compass.”

McNamara points to thetrend for organizations tohire Chief Ethics andCompliance Officers. Butthat doesn’t meanMcNamara believes we lack role models for leader-ship in times of crisis. “Look at Lee Iacocca whosaved Chrysler, Jack Welch,or Colin Powell. Powell is a great leader, and he is an ethical leader. He is not a man who has everthought in a ‘me first’ way.”

Across the Atlantic,Boyden’s John Ellis inLondon says, “Some lead-ers are simply ‘fair weather

III. Distinguishing Characteristics of Successful Leaders

“The first thing you need is astrong ethical orientation in conducting business.”

Tim McNamara, Managing DirectorBoyden Washington, DC

“This particular kind ofleader has an ability to focuson business fundamentals...and to look over the fence.”

Dr. Dirk Friederich, Managing PartnerBoyden Frankfurt – Bad Homburg

“The great leaders don’t run from change. They embrace it.”

Bob Concannon, Managing DirectorBoyden Chicago


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sailors.’ If companies wantto find a person capable ofturning things around, theymay have to rethink theirleadership.” He says theimportant abilities are afunctional understanding of the business issuesinvolved and a completeawareness of current operations. That means not just managing from the top, but managing closer at every aspect of the business from the bot-tom up. “They must be totally clear about whatneeds to be done,” he says. “They must be able to take people on that journey.”

Ellis says now the demandis for leaders who haveactual experience dealingwith massive change, andthe people issues associat-

ed with it. “Today, there isan enormous amount of talent available for hire.However, there are very few people who have thefull suite of capabilitiesrequired to lead a companyin crisis.”

Boyden’s Bob Concannonin Chicago says that leader-ship remains the mostimportant factor for compa-nies struggling through adifficult economy. “You needtough leadership, peoplewho can weather the storm.You don’t want someonewho can’t handle the risk.

“People talk about needinghunters in good economiesand farmers in badeconomies.” Concannonbelieves companies shouldnot be quick to changeleadership. “If you talk

about leadership todaycompared to ten years agocompared to eighty yearsago, the things that makeleaders successful haven’tchanged. The big issue ischange. That issue nevergoes away. The great lead-ers don’t run from change.They embrace it.”


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Joseph DanielMcCool talks aboutthe next generationof talent andLeadership 2.0.

Joseph Daniel McCool is the author of Deciding Who Leadsand Contributing Editor for BusinessWeek.

Boyden: When does the future of leadership start?McCool: This global economic crisis is really making people question traditional leadershipmethods and values. The future could arrive sooner than expected.

Boyden: How will things change?McCool: We are already seeing a new competitive dynamic. Foreign interests are buyinginto many sectors. Government (out of necessity) is becoming an active partner in privatesectors. Companies have to learn to do even more with less. Market forces are ricochetingfrom geography to geography in search of more efficient production and more specializedskills. Companies are being shocked into new and better business decisions.

Boyden: How are companies changing?McCool: Companies are beginning to realize they need to think farther ahead. They arebeginning to moderate their excesses. They need to move from a binge-purge approachwith their workforce to a more sensible and sustainable operation. The “me first” school ofmanagement leadership may have worn out its welcome.

Boyden: What about talent?McCool: There is a lot of new talent available. Some are new and some are sort-of-new.Some of the sort-of-new are actually experienced talent from the financial services sector.Access to sophisticated financial knowledge has not been available in the past, which willbe helpful to many companies. What we don’t know is what will happen when Wall Streettalent finds out what Main Street pays. There will be a reckoning on this point, for sure.

Boyden: Will the next generation of talent be different?McCool: The next generation of talent is already changing some rules. For one thing theyjust aren’t interested in making super-sized salaries at the expense of killing themselves,not having time with their families or harming the planet on which they live. They want to beinvolved in processes and products that are green, sustainable, and make them feel goodwhen they get home at the end of the day. They want their tech to be “cleantech.” Despitetheir smart phones and MP3 players, they are extremely people-oriented. They prefer towork in companies committed to taking care of their teams.

Boyden: Do they have different capabilities?McCool: This generation of talent is naturally skilled in leveraging technology and surfinginformation. They are the ones who really know how to map and navigate the new competi-tive landscape. Velocity is not an issue for them. Business is not as fast or complex as thegames they play on their PlayStations, Xboxes and Wiis. The demand for more speed incorporate decision making is not a problem.

On the other hand they have zero interest in growth for growth’s sake. They’re more into a shared approach to getting things done. This is beginning to feel a lot like Leadership 2.0.They are as interested in leading from the side as in leading from the front.

Boyden: What’s really interesting? McCool: Many current leaders are talking about rethinking growth, about redefining suc-cess, and about redefining what’s required to lead today’s companies. I think there are a lotof global companies that cannot be led by one person alone. The CEO role has becometoo complex, too global, and too demanding for individuals. Individual executives need tohave the courage and honesty to acknowledge they can’t do it all.

Boyden: What are the lessons learned? McCool: We all learned some bitter lessons from Enron and Tyco. (Enron and Tyco leader-ship are doing serious jail time.) The new lessons learned come from Wall Street and thefinancial sector. These are about setting false goals for too-large profits and too-fastgrowth. Companies must be willing to confront the critical leadership issues standing in theway of future growth and shareholder returns.

Boyden: What’s the bottom line?McCool: Our present leadership and our future leadership are converging into a sharedview of the future. It looks like the dawn of a whole new era of leadership.

Education

Leadership In A time of Crisis