Learning from successful high-tech CEOs.

• Author: Frerichs, Robert N.

Here is a collection of traits that strongly correlate to high performance, especially in an environment of fast-paced change.

As global business environments become increasingly difficult to predict, one thing has become clear: Companies need leaders who are skilled at successfully exploiting uncertainty. Easier said than done. Take the global high-tech and electronics industry - an industry that is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by the year 2000, not including software or components. Of the top 150 electronics companies by revenue in 1985, 73% either dropped in rank or fell off the "Top 150" list entirely by 1995. At the same time, some CEOs have thrived in this environment. The leadership skills displayed by winning high-tech CEOs provide insights for effective leadership in many environments where uncertainty is the norm.

Yesterday's CEO succeeded in part by creating an effective corporate environment defined by centralized authority and well-focused long-term planning. Today's CEO is more likely to succeed by setting and communicating a corporate vision and delegating a high degree of autonomy to well-managed business units, which are closer to their markets and more capable of picking up and responding to emerging opportunities. Also, the CEO of a high-performing company in today's rapidly changing global marketplace is one who is comfortable eschewing traditional annual calendar-based planning and budgeting cycles in favor of a dynamic approach. Under the new paradigm, corporate game plans often take a quick, dramatic shift, and resources are reallocated swiftly, as opportunities arise.

Such findings emerged in a recent study by Andersen Consulting. This two-year study involved more than 200 interviews with senior-level executive management from electronics and high-tech companies from all over the world. The Andersen Consulting project was undertaken in collaboration with Stanford University, Hitotsubashi University in Japan, and INSEAD in France. The goal was to compare the leadership and business practices of high-performing companies (identified by a comprehensive index based on market share, return on net assets, and self-assessment versus competitors) with those from medium- and low-performing companies. The study's results provide a clear picture of effective leadership and business practices in industries marked by a high degree of change and uncertainty. Here is how the new CEO can be described.

Forward-Thinking

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