CEOs as The Next Team Builders

The New York Times recently published an article entitled "C.E.O. Evolution Phase 3," in which it showcased the profiles of prominent CEOs of the 1990s who built empires, then the "Fix-It Men," whose job it was to repair the excesses and mistakes of their predecessors.

"Now, management experts and longtime watchers of corporate America say the current environment demands, and is attracting, yet another kind of chief executive: the team builder."

The article's premise?

• "CEOs must be able to ...assemble a team that functions as smoothly as a jazz sextet,” said Warren Bennis, a professor of management at USC.
• CEOs need to make sure the top hundred people know that they’re in this together, that their fates are correlated,” Mr. Bennis says. “That’s what it will take to succeed in this century.”

BOTTOMLINE: What will be the main challenge in the next 5 to 10 years? The prediction is it would be achieving double-digit growth internally, without the benefit of huge deals or accounting sleight-of-hand. “That’s why I think the baton will go to the manager who will stimulate a division and will be creative and innovative."