Why CEOs Fail

Ongoing investigation prompted by CEO Query: “what should I not do?” causes re-organization of my bookshelf and out pops and an old favorite: Why CEO’s Fail by Dotlich and Cairo (Jossey-Bass, 2003) – great book.

The list is so intriguing, but also the notion that you can’t eliminate derailers so much as seek to understand and manage them.  That is so what coaches help people to do, because if we’ve learned anything in the last 20 years it is that you can transplant a heart and a kidney, but not a personality.  Yet.

So here is the list – See if you can find yourself, probably more than one applies.

Arrogance: You’re right and everybody else is wrong.

Melodrama: You always grab the center of attention.

Volatility: Your mood swings drive business swings.

Excessive Caution: the next decision you make may be your first.

Habitual Distrust: You focus on the negatives.

Aloofness: You disengage and disconnect.

Mischievousness: Rules are made to be broken

Eccentricity: It’s fun to be different just for the sake of it.

Passive Resistance: Your silence is misinterpreted as agreement.

Perfectionism: Get the little things right even if the big things go wrong.

Eagerness to Please: Winning the popularity contest matters most.