
Beinga herois a good
path to the
CEO
chair.
Pardon Me, That's My Throne 139
Big pay seems "obscene" to some.
If
that's you, this isn't your
road. M ost observers aren't so upset at big pay for successes,
but
they really hate failed
CE
Os (perceived or
oth
erwise) getting a
huge check going out the door.
Cru
cify them! Still, if you become
CEO,
fail, and get crucified publicl
y-
you still almost always end
up well-off financially.
CEOS
AND
SUPERHEROES
It's tough becoming
CEO
, and tougher lasting long-term.
On
e way
to boost your odds is:
Think
hero . Be a swashbuckling risk taker.
Th
e
one with vision, fearlessness to pursue it, and fortitude to recognize
mistakes, alter course, and plunge fearlessly ahead again. Good heroes
make exceedingly lonely decisions, but sell the board, employees, and
shareholders on why the road less taken is better. T hose unp opular
decisions can flop, but real heroes usually bounce back.
On
e former superhero
CE
O was
GE
'sJack Welch (net w
orth
$720 millionj.l' Welch became
CE
O in 1981 when GE was a great
company, turned it upside down (read: layoffs), and made it greater.
Welch didn 't just trim payroll
s-he
decimated whole business lines.
To him, if
GE
wasn't a world leader or a close second at anything,
they should
n'
t be doing it. T
hro
ughout his career, he fired the b
ot-
tom 10 perc
ent
of
managers yearly.l!
While
tho
se fired man agers
likely weren't pleased, there are few
CE
Os in modern history as
well re