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My Dream Team of Mentors

BY: MICHAEL STERN March 1, 2006

I was flattered recently to receive a call from the CEO of a major Canadian company. He is looking to groom his successor, a promising newcomer with brainpower to spare - but short in high-level executive experience.

“You coach executives” he said. “Who do you see as key role models that my successor should try to learn from or meet? Who would you recommend as top senior executive leaders?”

It was a daunting challenge. The CEO wasn’t limiting his wish list to Canadians, or even to people who travel without bodyguards.

Thinking big, then, here is the list of business thinkers I suggested as the top mentors and role models for rising executives today.

* My first pick is Jeffrey R. Immelt, the chairman and CEO of General Electric who succeeded the legendary Jack Welch. A former salesman who is now establishing his own leadership style, Immelt is transforming GE from an operations-oriented bureaucracy into an innovation machine that will generate more and more growth from new products and creative marketing.

How do you put your own stamp on an organization? Immelt has replaced Welch’s cost-cutting culture with an entrepreneurial climate in which taking risks can earn big rewards. His “Innovations Breakthrough” program requires GE business leaders to submit three proposals a year for bold new projects. And he is offering billions in funding for the best ideas.

* Rudy Giuliani is a leadership icon, particularly in terms of setting priorities, for his performance as mayor of New York City - especially in the aftermath of Sept. 11. Under unimaginable pressure, he showed a natural ability to deal with crisis, and inspire everyone to work for a common good.

Giuliani showed an unerring instinct for the personal touch. By resolutely attending memorial services for victims of the World Trade Center attacks, he emphasized the city’s respect for the individual and symbolized its commitment to overcome its losses.

* My next stop would be Colorado to meet Jim Collins, author of two business classics: Built to Last and Good to Great. I admire his research into “Level 5 Leadership” - the modest yet decisive leadership style that has driven the long-term growth of most “great” organizations, as opposed to the rampant whims of flamboyant tycoons such as Donald Trump. His insights rank as one of the most important management discoveries in recent years, and it’s a confidence booster for decent, unassuming business leaders the world over.

* Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, is another must-meet. No one knew what to expect when this consumer-products marketer joined the online auction pioneer in 1998. Her previous job involved overseeing Hasbro’s two major pre-school brands: Playskool and Mr. Potato Head. Quite a leap from Mr. Potato Head to eBay!

Now Whitman is credited with turning eBay into a trusted global giant, a company that mixes technology smarts with strategic vision and a genuine concern for its faithful “community” of millions of dedicated users. How an alumna of Procter & Gamble won the hearts and minds of Silicon Valley’s top technologists is a tale worth hearing.

* Another succession success story is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. He not only had to follow founder Bill Gates, but he still lives in the long shadow of the world’s richest man, who remains Microsoft’s chairman. Nonetheless, Ballmer has worked hard to reposition Microsoft as a kinder, gentler giant that wants to make the world a better place.

* Less well known is Edward Zander, the former president of Sun Microsystems who became Motorola’s chairman and CEO in 2004 - the first non-family member ever to head the venerable manufacturer. He challenged Motorola’s strong engineering culture, by shifting the focus to design and the customer experience. The result has been a slate of successful new products such as the ultrathin RAZR phone, and increased market share.

* Also worth meeting are the two men who lost to Jeff Immelt in the competition to replace Jack Welch. How we deal with setbacks is just as important as how we handle success. So it’s good to know that James McNerney went on to become CEO of 3M, and was recently appointed president, chairman and CEO of Boeing. Robert Nardelli is now CEO of Home Depot, where he has overseen international expansion and a profit turnaround.

Clearly, both have shaken off their disappointment and found the confidence to lead other organizations.

* Finally, I would have this successor meet David Duffield, founder and former CEO of PeopleSoft. The man who called his employees PeoplePeople, and had managers serve them bagels, stood by his people to the end - and even longer.

Duffield resigned from PeopleSoft in December 2004 after the company lost an 18-month takeover battle to arch-rival Oracle. Six months later, he put up $10 million of his own to create a fund to help former PeopleSoft employees laid off in the transition. Former employees having trouble finding new jobs were eligible for grants of up to $10,000 - if they had earned less than $150,000. (Above that level, Duffield reasoned, people can fend for themselves.)

Commentators in Silicon Valley have noted that if Duffield launches another venture, he’ll have no trouble recruiting loyal staff.

Even in this cynical day and age, there are business leaders to admire. Even if it has to be from afar.