| Strategic initiative (if you are not amongst the top three in any business, you shouldn't be in that business), vision (he was the first to spot the benefits of outsourcing back office work to India), manpower planning (you should have the ability to attract the best people to run your business)""after Welch, corporate philosophy has never been the same again. |
| At the same time, the world over, CEOs have never faced a bigger challenge to their authority than now. The complexities of the marketplace are increasing by the day, resulting in more variables being thrown into the equation they need to crack. So, it comes as no surprise that one reads of CEO after CEO being put in the doghouse after letting down his shareholders, employees and customers. The corner graveyard has never been so full. The leadership crisis couldn't be more real. |
| What makes a great business leader? |
| What differentiates Henry Ford, Jack Welch, Andrew Grove and Bill Gates from other CEOs? |
| What must one do to succeed as a leader? |
| Follow the Centurions, says Col O'Leary, who served for 22 years with the US Air Force and has written bestsellers like Taking the High Ground, America Out of the Ashes and Brave Hearts Under Red Skies. |
| The heroics of the Centurions are well-known. How Hannibal restored Carthage's pride, how Alexander marched his armies across vast continents""the legends are all too familiar. Col O'Leary tells the story of eleven Centurions and centurion-like leaders, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S Grant, dwelling upon their strategic initiatives, their belief in themselves and their courage of conviction. |
| In their success, argues Col O'Leary, lies a vital message for today's top corporate honchos. Like the Centurions of ancient Rome, business leaders need to work their way up in the organisation, and then lead from the front. In this there has been no change in all these years. What held good two millennia ago must hold good now. In fact, this, Col O'Leary says, is the surest way to motivate your men to excel. |
| If you want them to think out of the box, you need to set an example by breaking the box all the time. |
| Just like Hannibal and Alexander did during their times. Instead of laying down drearily what to do and what not to do, Col O'Leary drives home the rules for victory the old-fashioned way, by telling the exploits of heroes of a bygone era. |
| Stripped of all the wording and packaging that goes into something that can be put on a bookshelf, it means people cannot lay any claim to running a business unless they have gone through the grind and mastered all the functions. This can, in a way, be seen as an argument for good old professionalism. In the modern corporate world, it is an accepted fact that promoters do not necessarily make the best managers. That is why professional executives are engaged to run businesses. So, the CEO takes care of all the headaches and hogs all the glory too, while shareholders sit back and count their dividend cheques and monitor the value of their stock. It suits everybody. Except the CEO has to deliver what shareholders expect. That's the essence of the deal. |
| In India, however, the debate is far from settled. In a vast majority of cases, promoters simply plant themselves at the top. And then proceed to do a bloody good job of running their companies, too. Let us accept it: there is no credible evidence so far to suggest that professionally-run firms reward their shareholders any better than family-run companies. In fact, there are as many cases of professionals indulging in asset stripping as there are cases of promoter-managers letting greed get the better of them. |
| Still, as Indian businesses become more complex and the CEO's job becomes more and more demanding, a new kind of business leader is emerging. More important, this leader has started displaying what O'Leary may well recognise and applaud as Centurion-like leadership. |
| THE CENTURION PRINCIPLES BATTLEFIELD LESSONS FOR FRONTLINE LEADERS |
| Col Jeff O'Leary (Retd) Pearson Price: Rs 299; Pages: 248 |
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