bcg -首席執(zhí)行官們從第一天起就開始打造遺產(chǎn) For CEOs,Building a Legacy Begins on Day One

ForCEOs,BuildingaLegacyBeginsonDayOne

JANUARY07,2025

ByJamesBrownsell

READINGTIME:15MIN

FortheCEO

SomeCEOlegaciesarebuilttostandthetestoftime.TakeDavidPackard,forexample.Backinthemid-20thcentury,whenhewasgrowingHewlett-Packardfromtheoriginalscrappygaragestartup

intoaSiliconValleyicon,hehadtheradicalideathatacompanynotonlyhadaresponsibilitytoits

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shareholdersbutalsotoitsemployees,customers,andbroadersociety.

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Thosevalues—andtheinnovativemanagementtechniquesandproductstheyinspired—notonly

delivered40consecutiveyearsofpro?tablegrowth.Packard’slegacycontinuestoenduremorethanhalfacenturya代erhesteppeddownasCEO.

History,ofcourse,doesnotalwaysrememberchiefexecutivessofondly.EventhosewholeavetheC-suitefestoonedinfavorableearningsreports,pressaccolades,andlonglistsofphilanthropiesto

theircreditcanlandinthecrosshairsofchangingbusinessandsocialnorms.Caseinpoint:the19thcenturyrobberbarons,menwhobuiltgreatbusinessempiresandculturalinstitutionsbutwhom

latergenerationswouldcriticizeforunethicalbusinesspracticesandexploitationofworkers.

Intheend,whatseparatesagreatCEOlikePackardfromaninfamous,average,orforgettableoneo代enboilsdowntothreethings:theactionstheytake—ordon’t—onthejob;

thecultureandsenior

leadershiptheycultivate

;andtheimpacttheirleadershiphasonsociety.

FourStepsforBuildingaLastingCEOLegacy

Whilethatlistmayseemdeceptivelysimple,theenvironmentinwhichtoday’sCEOsforgetheirlegaciesisfarmoredi?culttonavigatethaninyearspast.

“Wehave

increasinguncertainty

andincreasingenterprisevolatility,”says

ChristineBarton

,aBCGmanagingdirectorandseniorpartnerandthe?rm’sCEOAdvisoryleadinNorthAmerica.“Thereisasetofskillsthatyouwanttoseeinfutureleadersthatwereprobablynotasrequiredinpast

leaders”

Legaciesarenotcreatedovernight.CEOsstartbuildingthemfromtheir?rstdayonthejobandeverydaytherea代er.Thoughtheymayfaceafaster-moving,morecomplexlandscapethantheir

predecessors,theycanlearnfromtheregretsofformerCEOs.Iftheycomplementthoselessonswithafewkeyactionsandahealthydoseofboldness,theycanmakethemostoftheirprivilegedtimeatthetoptodeliverfortheirshareholders,employees,andsociety—bothduringtheirtenureandlonga代erthey’vemovedon.

ThePowerofCEORegrets

FormerCEOsareo代enaskedaboutwhattheydidright.Butsometimes,themostvaluableinsightscomefromaskingthemwhattheywishtheyhaddonedi?erently.

“Oneoftheveryuseful,quiteunderstudiedemotionsisregret,”says

JuliaDhar,

aBCGmanaging

directorandpartnerandthegloballeadofthe?rm’sbehavioralsciencelab.“Ashumanbeings,weareveryinvestedpsychologicallyinavoidingregrets.So,pursuingastrategyofregretminimizationispowerful”

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Dharsurveyed70formerCEOs,C-suiteexecutives,andboardchairsfromacrossindustriesabouttheirbiggestregrets.Morethanhalfofthemcitednotactingswi代lyenoughwhensettinggoals.

“Sometimestheysay,‘Iknewwhatneededtobe?xedfromthebeginning,butIallowedthe

organizationtogoonagloriousjourneyofself-discoveryandspentayeardoingthat,’”saysDhar.

Ashumanbeings,weareveryinvestedpsychologicallyinavoidingregrets.So,pursuingastrategyofregretminimizationispowerful.

JuliaDhar,ManagingDirector&Partner,Boston

“

Delayinganecessaryrestructuring,digitaltransformation,or

game-changingM&Adeal

canindeedundermineaCEO’slegacy.

“WhenwedoempiricalstudiesonaCEO’simpactontotalshareholderreturns,thosewhomade

movesintheir?rstorsecondyearhavebetteroutcomes,”saysBarton.“Inpart,that’sbecauseofthecompoundinge?ect.Youmakethechangeearlier,youbuildo?thatstrength,andmorevalueiscreated”

Sometimes,theneedforfastactionsisobvious—forexample,ifaCEOtakesthehelmofacompanythatislosingmarketshare.Butwhenthecompanythey’retappedtoleadisdoingwell,CEOsneedtoconsiderwhetherabig,boldchangeiswarrantedorwhethertheyarepursuingchangesimplyto

maketheirmark.

“IfanewCEOsaidtome,Iwanttostepouttheshadowofmypredecessor,Iwouldsay,‘Askyourself:Whyareyoueventhinkingaboutthis?’”saysBrynDavies,directorfortheOxfordHighPerformanceLeadershipProgrammeatOxfordUniversity’sSaidBusinessSchool.

“

CEOsneedtoconsiderwhetherabig,boldchangeiswarrantedorwhethertheyarepursuingchangesimplytomaketheirmark.

WhenaCEOdoestakeoverahigh-performingcompanywithasoundfoundationforfuturestrength,Bartonadvisestheyfocusontakingswi代actionstopreventgrowthfromplateauing.

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“Ifyou’reinasituationwherethecompany’sTSRistopquartileortopthird,youknowthatit’san

extensiongame,”shesays.“Thequestionthenis,‘HowdoIextendthisandhowdoIplanttheseedsfornewincrementalgrowthandpro?tthataddtothattrajectory?’”

Handinglovewithnotactingquicklyenoughisfailingtoactboldlyenough—anothertopCEOregretthatDhar’sresearchreveals.

“Those[regrets]areo代enexpressedas‘Ihadanopportunity,forabriefmoment,totake

substantialactiononbehalfofsomethingIbelievedinoronbehalfofotherpeople,’”saysDhar.“‘Ididn'tdoenough,orIdidn'tdoanything,andnownoonecares’”

AnotherprominentregretDhar’sresearchuncoveredcentersonatraitthatiso代enoverlookedinCEOleadershipliterature—kindness.

“Nearlyeveryonesays,‘Icouldhavebeenkindertopeoplealongtheway,’”shesays.

Goodwillandgenerosityareabedrockofapositivelegacy,becauseexceptionalleadersareo代enrememberedforbringingoutthebestinthepeoplearoundthem.

Heorshehelpedmetobecomeabetterleader,orabetterperson,orheorshehelpedmetoachievemorethanIeverdreamedof.Thosearethethingspeoplesayaboutgreatleaders.

BrynDavies,DirectorfortheOxfordHighPerformanceLeadershipProgramme,SaidBusinessSchool,OxfordUniversity

“

“Heorshehelpedmetobecomeabetterleader,orabetterperson,orheorshehelpedmeto

achievemorethanIeverdreamedof,”saysDavies.“Thosearethethingspeoplesayaboutgreatleaders”

CEOscanpracticeregretminimizationbyschedulingregularwindowstore?ectbothindividuallyandwiththeirseniorleadershipteamonwhethertheiractionsalignwiththeirlong-termgoals.Theyalsoneedtobebrutallyhonestwiththemselvesabouthowmuchtimethey’relikelytohavetomaketheirmark.

“Thereisabitofmagicalthinkingherethatthe[CEO]jobwilleitherlastforever,oritwilllastaslongasyouwantitto,”saysDhar.“ButmanyCEOsdonotcontrolthetimingoftheirdeparture,andit

wouldbewisenottoassumethattheroleisyoursaslongasyoulike”

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CultureandSeniorLeadershipThatEndures

CEOsaren’tjudgedsolelyonhowwellacompanyperformsontheirwatch.Theirlegacyalsohingesonwhetheritcontinuestothriveoncethey’vemovedontotheirnextact.Inbothinstances,the

cultureandseniorleadershipteamtheCEOcultivatesaredecisivesuccessfactors.

“AlotofCEOscomeinandtheybringintheirownpeople,whilesomejuststickwiththeexisting

team,neitherofwhichisusuallytherightanswer,”says

JenniferThomas

,aBCGpartneranddirectorwholeadsthe?rm’sexecutivecoachingbusiness.

Thisisespeciallytrueforcorporatechiefswhodidnotcomefromtheexistingmanagementofa

companyandmaynothaveenoughtimetogainafullunderstandingoftheorganization,itspolitics,oritsculture.

Whetherhomegrownorrecruitedfromoutside,ThomasadvisesCEOstokicko?theirtenurebyassessinghowmembersoftheirseniorleadershipteamcomplementeachother.

Whatarethosewaysofthinking,thosestrengthsthateach[memberoftheleadershipteam]bringstocreatetherightportfolio?Isthereenough

diversityinperspective?Areyougoingtohavepeoplewhoaregoingtochallengeyouanddebateopenly?

JenniferThomas,PartnerandDirector,ExecutiveCoaching,Boston

“

“Whatarethosewaysofthinking,thosestrengthsthateachbringstocreatetherightportfolio?”she

says.“Isthereenoughdiversityinperspective?Areyougoingtohavepeoplewhoaregoingtochallengeyouanddebateopenly?”

ThomasaddsthatitisvitallyimportantfortheCEOtocreateanatmosphereinwhichit’sokayto

voicealternativeideas,?agissues,andtrysomethingnew—andfail.“PeopleneedtobecomfortablecomingtoyouwithproblemsandtobehonestaboutsayingItriedthis,itdidn’twork.Here’swhatwelearnedfromit”

Whilefrankviewsareo代enforthcomingatthestartofachiefexecutive’stenure,overtime,thedialoguecandri代towardwhattheywanttohearasopposedtowhatCEOsneedtohear—a

phenomenonthat

RichLesser,

BCG’sglobalchair,describesas“theCEObubble”

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“Withoutproactiveintervention,leadersarelikelytobeshelteredfromtherealityofadi?cultsituationatacriticaljunctureoruntilit’sentrenched,”Lesser

recentlywrote

.

Andnomatterhowtalentedindividualseniorleadersmaybe,theCEOneedstoensuretheirtopteammembersdonotplaceindividualagendasbeforebroaderorganizationalgoals.

“Lookateverysinglekeypieceofworkthat’sbeingdoneandask,isthisorisitnotinsupportofmyvisionandstrategy?”saysThomas.“Whyarewedoingit?Isthisapetprojectthatweshouldjustbekilling?”

Withoutproactiveintervention,leadersarelikelytobeshelteredfromtherealityofadi?cultsituationatacriticaljunctureoruntilit’sentrenched.

RichLesser,GlobalChair,NewYork

“

CEOscansetthetonebyembodyingbehaviorsandmindsetsthatcreateaculturewhere

transparency,collaboration,andinnovationthrive.“Youmodelthebehavioryouwanttoseefromotherpeople,”saysDavies.“Leaderswhosayonethinganddoanotherlosetrustandloyalty”

CEOswhobuildanimble,collaborativeseniorleadershipteamfurthersupporttheirlegacyby

fosteringarichpooloftalentthatcanonedayyieldtheirsuccessor—someonewiththeknowledge,skills,andtemperamenttokeepleadingthecompanyfromstrengthtostrength.

“Youwanttoberemembered,butwhatifthatlegacybecomesunderminedbythenextCEO?”says

Davies.“Whatabouttheideathatalegacycouldbeenhanced,improved,strengthened,orturbocharged?”

WhenCEOsdoidentifypromisingsuccessorcandidates,theycaninvestindevelopingthem.“Boardmentorshiporfundingacoachordesigningasetofexperiencescanallbuildupasu?cientnumberofcrediblepeopleforthe[CEO]role,”saysBarton.

TheWin-WinofSocialImpact

CEOsarenotjustleadersofcompanies.Theyareleadersoftheircommunitiesaswell—apositionthata?ordsthemauniqueopportunitytohaveapositiveimpactonsocietywhilealsodeliveringfortheiremployeesandshareholders.

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“Theprivatesector’scorejobofgrowingtheeconomy,creatingjobs,andinnovatingisanincrediblyimportantmission,”says

RichHutchinson

,aBCGmanagingdirectorandseniorpartnerandleaderofthe?rm’sSocialImpactpractice.“Socreatingathrivingcompanythatcreatesgoodjobsforits

employeesandcreatesgreatvalueforitscustomersissomethingthatweregardasasocialgoodinandofitself”

Whilecompanieshavetraditionallysetasideabudgettocontributetogoodcausesandcommunitypillarslikealocaluniversity,CEOscandeliverevengreaterimpact—andgainanedgeovertheir

competitors—bybuildingasociallytransformativebusiness.

Helpinvestorsunderstandyou’retryingtodoareallygoodthingintheworldinapro?tableway.

RichHutchinson,ManagingDirector&SeniorPartner;GlobalLeader,

SocialImpact,Atlanta

“

HutchinsonadvisesCEOstolookacrosstheirvaluechains—attheirproductsandservices,supply

chains,andorganizations—toidentify

socialimpact

goalsthatalsocreateabusinessadvantage.Forexample,companieswithoperationsinlower-incomecountriescandeploystrategiesthat“create

economicdevelopmentthatisinclusiveforthosecountries,”saysHutchinson.Theycanalso

fostera

moreinclusiveworkingenvironment

.“[This]tendstoraisetheboatforeverybodyandcreatetalentadvantage,whichcreatesincreasedproductivityandretention,”hesays.

CEOsshouldalsoconsiderdrivingbroaderobjectivesthatnosinglecompanycanachievealone.

“YouabsolutelyseeCEOsshapingtheirlegacybybeingpartof?rst-movercoalitionsonclimateor

othersocietalimpactgoals,”saysHutchinson.“There’sa$100to$150trillioneconomicenergy

transitionthat’sgottohappenoverthenext30years.Thatmeansthereisahugeamountofpro?ttobemadebyhelpingthattransitionhappen”

Finally,CEOsneedtotalkabouttheseinitiativestotheiremployees—sotheyknowtheyarepartofagreatcompanydoinggreatthings—aswellastheirshareholders.

“Helpinvestorsunderstandyou’retryingtodoareallygoodthingintheworldinapro?tableway,”saysHutchinson.“Itmightbealittlelesspro?tableintheshortrun,butifyouexplainwhyyou’re

doingthatandsay,‘Ourcorebusinessisamazing.Thisisalong-termthingwe’redoing.It’sgoodforgrowingourmarkets…orourtalentbase…andgoodfortheworld’Then,youactuallygetinvestorunderstanding”

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FourStepsforBuildingaLastingCEOLegacy

WhileaCEO’stenurewillultimatelyre?ecttheiruniquevision,values,andmanagementstyle,thereisacommonsetofactionstheycantaketolaythefoundationforalegacythatismorelikelyto

endure.

Pursueastrategyofregretminimization.CEOswhoengagein“regretminimization”arelesslikelytolookback,yearsfromnow,wishingtheyhadmovedfaster,beenbolder,ortreatedpeoplewithmorekindness.

The?rststepistoinvolvetheirseniorleadershipteam.“Startaconversationamongthemthatsays,‘Whatwouldaregret-minimizationstrategycomprise?Howwoulditbedi?erentfromwhatwearedoingnow?’”saysDhar.“‘Whatwoulditlooklike?’”

It’simportanttorememberthatthisisnotaone-o?exercise.CEOsneedtoblockoutregulartime

to

re?ect

onwhetherandhowtheyarerealizingtheirlong-termvisionandbringingoutthebestin

thosearoundthem.

Regretminimizationcanalsohelpleadersavoidbeingtooprescriptiveandin?exibleinaglobalbusinesslandscapeincreasinglycharacterizedbyacceleratingcomplexityanduncertainty.

“Youcan’tjustsay,‘Here’smy?ve-yearstrategy,andthisismylegacy,’andgodoit,”saysThomas.“That’snotgoingtowork.Yourstrategyhastoaccountforconstantchangesandpivotsbecauseyoudon'tknowtheheadwindsandtailwindscomingatyou”

Moveswi什lyandboldly.Whenitcomestohavinganimpact,CEOstodaydonothavetheluxuryoftime.“ThereisamuchgreaterriskofactinglaterinaCEO’stenurethanactingearlier,”saysBarton.

ShenotesthatwhileCEOsareusuallyjudgedintheir?rstyearortwoontheresultsoftheir

predecessor’sinvestments,theycanusethattimetolaunchtransformationsorpursue

M&Adeals

thatwillreapdividendsinyearsthreeandfour.

“Ifyoudon’tmakethosemoves,restructuringorpivoting,orlayingthefoundationsforfurther

growthuntilyearthreeorfour,youarealwaysgoingtobeatalowershareholderreturnthantheCEOsthatmadethatmoveearlier,”saysBarton.

Buildalegacy-cementingcultureandseniorleadershipteam.ACEO’svisionneedsafertileenvironmenttocometofruition.Thisincludesbuildingaseniorleadershipteamthatplaces

enterprise-widegoalsoverpersonalagendasandthatfeelsatlibertytovoiceproblems,alternativeideas,andlessonsfromfailedinitiatives.

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“Ifyoudon'tgetaccuratefeedback,youhavealltheseblindspots,andit’sgoingtogetinthewayofachievingyourlegacy,”saysThomas.“Youhavetohavepeoplewhoaregoingtochallengeyouandbehonestwithyou.Anditcan’tjustbeyourtwoorthreechosenones.Alwaysbeaskingandlisteningandgivingthepermissiontochallenge”

Whenseniorleadershipteamsdopulltogetherandcanfearlesslytellaleaderwhattheyneedto

hear,itcreatesthekindofcultureandvaluesthatwillliveonlonga代eraCEOhasle代thecorner

o?ce.ItwillalsocultivatearichpoolofpotentialcandidateswhocansucceedtheCEO,ensuringthecompanyisle代ingreathands.

Dowellwhiledoinggood—andtalkaboutit.CEOswhofocusonhelpingsocietytotheexclusion

ofpro?tsareunlikelytosucceedinthelongterm.Theyneedtodeliverfortheiremployees,shareholders,andsociety.

“It’saboutdoingwellwhiledoinggood,”saysHutchinson.

CEOscanstartbylookingattheirownoperations.“Findreallybigmaterialthingsthatyour

companycandothatcreateanadvantageforyourcompany—andahighimpactonsociety,”saysHutchinson.Forexample,meaningfulactiononeliminatingScope1,2,and3emissionscannotonlydrivenetzerogoalsbuto代encreatesnear-termcostadvantage.

“Findsomethingbigthatmatters,”saysHutchinson.“There’sahugerolethatprivatecompanieshavetoplayinachievingsocietalgoalsthatareo代enbeyondtheirownindividualcompany”

CEOsshouldnotbeshyaboutpublicizingthesee?orts.Sharingthemwithemployeescanhelpthemseethattheyareapartofsomethingbiggerthatbene?tssociety—andintheprocess,itcanenergizetheworkforce.CEOsalsoneedtoshowshareholdershowthesee?ortsarelikelytopayo?forthe

businessovertime.

“Iwanttodiscusswhyacompanyexistsinthe?rstplace.Inotherwords,whyarewehere?”David

PackardsaidtoagroupofHPmanagersin1960.Hewentontosaythatwhilepro?tisanimportant

resultofacompany’sexistence,itexistssopeoplecanaccomplishsomethingcollectivelytheycould

2

notdoalone—somethingworthwhilethatmakesapositivecontributiontosociety.Thatbusinessphilosophy—radicalforitstime—stillresonatestoday.

WhilenotallCEOswillbuildalegacyasenduringandpositiveasDavidPackard’s,theycanconsider,

fromdayoneinthebigchair,howtheiractionscanli代societyaswellastheircompany.Withtherightactions,theycanbuildalegacythatmightsomedayberememberedasonefortheages.

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