At least 36 things an excellent CEO needs to be about

You need an excellent CEO. According to “CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest”, CEOs who rank in the top 20% of financial performance generate, on average, 2.8 times more total return to shareholders during each year of their tenure than do average performers. Moreover, the extent to which a CEO is a significant predictor of a company’s performance has more than doubled since the mid-twentieth century.

Six responsibilities

They interviewed several top CEOs, and six key responsibilities emerged:

• Setting the direction
• Aligning the organisation
• Mobilising through leaders
• Engaging the board
• Connecting with stakeholders
• Managing personal effectiveness

The best CEOs

The best CEOs are exceptional futurists and have an excellent information dashboard. They are perception pioneers. The best CEOs hardwire their view of the future into their company’s strategic planning. They are into scenario planning. They consider the second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-order consequences. Excellent CEOs are always looking to the next S-curve while ensuring the current one is delivered on…