The New CEO

CHAPTER 11If I Could Do It All Over Again

A saying that I love is, “Experience is what you get just after you needed it.” This will, in part, be the case for your transition. I say “in part” because here you do have the ability to learn from others who have gone before you and held the role that only a very small percentage of the world's population ever holds—being the new CEO.

If you had an opportunity to sit with all the CEOs I have featured, interviewed, surveyed, and supported in this book, and could ask them one question, what would it be?

My guess is that you would probably ask, “What is the one piece of advice you would give me, as a new CEO, to be successful in my transition?” Another one might be, “If you had your transition again, would you do anything differently?”

So, here I share a collection of invaluable advice and hindsight from some of your peers, from those who have done it, and done it well.

Ramon Laguarta, CEO, PepsiCo

“As a new CEO, you need to be aware that your first six months are so important in terms of your success. If you get it right, you build momentum, which will help carry through the changes and initiatives that you need to deliver during the rest of your tenure.

“The other thing is that, in terms of cultural change, you can't underestimate the power of being a new leader in a room. From the start, I encouraged people to come to meetings empowered to share their views and opinions, which sent a clear signal that this was going to be the ...