1. Alien CEO- Should a CEO be homegrown or from external world
Thisarticle debate aboutwhetheracompanyshouldlookfora CEO frominternal orshould lookfor
external CEO- AnAlienCEOwhoisnotaware of the company DNA and workculture (Generallyre-
organize toensure companyworkingalignstohisthoughtprocesses) .CompanyBoardoftendebates
whetherthe toppostshouldbe giventointernal/external person.Similardiscussionhasbeeninsports
whetherthe nominatedcoachwouldbe aplayerwhohasservedthe countryor outsider.Ihave triedto
debate prosand consin thisarticle andput across a few case studieswhichare part of the organization
strugglingtosurvive throughanAlienCEO. All companies’ wantsaHEAD of the companywhobecome a
face to the worldandinternallyshouldmanage the trustamongthe employees,customerandother
stakeholders.Asthisbeingimportantposition,companies tendtosearchfora perfectman to run an
organization.A home grownindividual understandsDNA of the organization oranoutsiderwhobring
freshthoughtprocess totarget growthstory of the organization.These are debateswhichare done in
the closedroomin the board meeting.
Homegrown CEO
In defense,we have neverheardHeadof servicesisfromoutside of the servingfield.Never heardanyof
the servingsoldiercomplaining aboutthe leadershipskills.Theyhadservedunknownterritory and
completed theirtask. Howevermainreasonisacceptabilitywithinorganization.Soldierstake pridein
workinginthe organizationandmotivatedtosacrifice theirlife fornation.Alsoprocessandgrooming
HEAD has gone throughduringhistenure inARMY. Headof the ARMY doesn’tneedto spend 1year
takingtransitionforfitforthe job.He knowsthat country’sCURRENT/FUTURE survival dependsuponhis
action. Armyhas a rule that each personshouldbe groomedtoperformdutiesatleastfornextlevel. In
one of the TED conference,anARMYwas explainingreasonfordoingthiswastoensure duringcombat
operation,theyhave leaderswhotake decisionandotheroblige tothe command. Ihave usedabove
connotation toemphasize organizationlooktoservicesforinnovationintechnologyandtheyshould
learnhowservice organizationwork.
Companiesgroomandmake leaderstoperformnextlevel leaderswhowouldtake organizationto
growthand profitable growth.Decision of theseleaderswouldensure survival fornextdecade orso.
Large organizations(Like GE) have trackrecordsof identifyinggroupof highperformingindividualswho
are groomedwithinthe organizationand one of themisalleviatedto the topposition,othersare given
seniorposition inethorganization.Homegrownleaders,understandthe DNA of the organization.What
are area whichhave workedinthe past and theyapplytheirskills,thisknowledge to take company
forward. Theyact as pillarstomake foundationforothersinthe organizationtogrow. Individualsare
aware of the nittygritty what/whythings have worked (ornotworked).Theyare aware of the
expectationfromall stakeholders. Anotheradvantage of homegrown CEOisthathe wouldbe an expert
inthe businessesandalsohadmade hishanddirty wouldbe polishedpersoninthe businessarea. This
personhaddreamt while workingof makingaplace betterandprofitable waytodo business.
An AlienCEO
2. Company’sboardtry to findCEOwithintoget growthtargetset bythe companies.Howeveralways
temptedtohire fromoutside withcapabilitiestoputthe companyingrowth trajectorywhere itcan
grow beyondindustrystandards.Newbloodbringsnewwaystolooktoexistingproblemandsolve in
the way whichmightnotbe thoughtthrough byexistingmanagement. ManagementbelievesnewCEO
will bringamagic wandwhichwouldsolve existingproblemandmove the companiestothe nextlevel.
One thingmanagementshouldunderstand,newbloodwhichisbroughtshouldmixwithothersand
create betterproduct.Personshouldreduce frictionwhichcouldbe accepted,notmanagementimpose
on the company. NewHeadstarts bringingnew structure of the growthwhichhe things(generally
inspiredbyhispreviousorganization).He bringexternal consultancyagencytosell hisideaof change
where hisclose aide getsthe hire position.Thisleadstoignore people whounderstandthe DNA
(organizationRISKlosingthose resources,asgoodpeople alwaysgetjob,people whoare lazystruggle
and continue the organization).ConsultantsandHeadcontinue to transformwithouttakingkeyinputs
of DNA (whythe organizationexists) intoaccount. New Headshouldunderstandthatthingswhichwork
inhis previousorganizationwouldnotworkif thatis copied(if copyingof thingsworked,there would
atleast100+ Google or100+ Microsoftcompanies).Eachorganizationhas a unique value with
competencywhichincludeHumans whichtheyshouldexploittomaximize theirbusiness.Theyshould
understandpeopleare notswitcheswhere software couldbe downloaded andorganizationchanges.
Howeverneedtoensure theyare motivatedsothattheyare readyto accept the change and work for
growthof the organization.
Before gettingintofewshortwarstories,wouldlike toemphasize Headshouldtake care of customer
whichbringrevenue tothe investorshoweverneedtoensure thatARMY whoworksat the frontieris
united,motivatedand workforsatisfactionforthe customerto retainand alongwithcustomer
business.We needtoensure CARROTand STICKat work.Too much of stickor carrot spoil the
coordination. QuickcheckforanyCEO, if employees saythatthey are notmotivated,itclearlyshows
organizationisbrinkof downturn.If the numbergrows of demotivatedguysisinthe range of 5-10%
person,itshowsendof divisionandaddanother10%, itwouldmark endof the organization.
