| Links to Recent Articles On Executive Leadership For Builder Leaders & their Investors | |
| April 2015 | |
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| Curated Articles |
| Sources |
| Syndicated Publications | Business School Research | Independent Publications |
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- BCG Perspectives |
- Chicago Booth School of Business |
- Ben Horowitz |
| For CEOs | For PE Investors | For VC Investors |
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Debunking the Myths of the First 100 Days: The Right Way and the Wrong Way for New CEOs to Approach Their Role You've just been given the keys to the kingdom -- now what? Of course, you already have a plan you'd like to execute, "best practices" that you want to put into place, but is that enough? This BCG Perspectives article highlights a particular danger for new CEOs -- failing to take sufficient account of the "contextual fact base" (that is, what makes this role unique?) -- and how they should adapt their strategies by considering the precise circumstances of their position. Top executives need feedback—here’s how they can get it The top of the heap is inherently an isolating position. At the senior executive level, most colleagues are subordinates, and any superiors -- e.g., a board of directors or a very senior boss -- probably no longer closely observe daily behavior. There is little opportunity to receive constructive criticism or strategic advice ... or is there? this McKinsey article by Robert S. Kaplan explains how to take greater ownership of getting feedback in ways that will encourage a broader culture of coaching and learning in the organization in addition to improving individual effectiveness. Global Human Capital Trends 2014 For all the surveys that are done out there, well more than half don’t do service to their topic. Deloitte’s 2014 Trends in Talent is the exception. Great summary of top 10 trends, global coverage, deep respondent set (2500+), and clean writing. A must read for all CEOs of growing companies where not just domestic but global talent market intel is of interest, and those who invest in small-, mid-, and large-cap sectors. |
Top 10 Lessons Learned in Selling Your Company-- Private Equity-backed CEOs Share Their Stories Winter is traditionally storytelling weather, and what with the record-setting snowfall here in Boston, we at BSG took the opportunity to convene a panel of CEOs for a retrospective on their experiences in leading private equity-backed companies through successful exits. These captains of industry discussed "a-ha!" moments, best practices, and the rationale behind the decisions they made -- which we have summarized for you in a succinct blog post. Enjoy! 2013 Executive Coaching Survey Might your CEO be feeling lonely at the top? If he is, he's not alone. According to this survey conducted by Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford Rock Center, and the Miles Group, nearly two-thirds of all CEOs and senior executives do not receive any form of coaching, but nearly all are receptive to the process. Key findings include attitudes towards talent development and skills and behaviors that targeted for improvement. Private Equity Reporting: Transforming Data into Intelligence Like any other industry, private equity is becoming more data-intensive. In an ideal world, this would suggest the facilitation of more perfect decisions -- indeed, this survey by TABB Group and Sungard demonstrates that PE firms greatly value increased transparency and more effective data management for precisely this reason. Unfortunately, operational deficiencies continue to prevent many firms from operating in this paradigm. This article reveals the top challenges associated with running a PE firm in this environment and provides a roadmap for how leading firms are handling these challenges.
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The Role of Top Management Team Human Capital in Venture Capital Markets: Evidence from First-Time Funds As the investor sector moves towards a value-added system that takes an active role in managing portfolio companies, the following question becomes pertinent: do venture capitalists affect investment performance? What kinds of backgrounds are correlated with successful portfolio company departures (e.g., IPO or acquisition)? Economist for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Rebecca Zarutskie presents some counter-intuitive conclusions. Should Investors Bet on the Jockey or the Horse? Although this article is very rich, one would be hard-pressed to describe it as a dessert -- it's very academic. However, if you're willing to invest the time (pun completely intended), you'll be rewarded with a very comprehensive study of the evolution of firm characteristics from early business plan to initial public offering for 50 VC-financed companies. Equipped with a myriad of data and tables, Chicago Booth School of Business professor Steven Kaplan squarely identifies the "glue" that holds firms together and, therefore, the most valuable avenue of due diligence for a venture capital firm.
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| Executive Compensation | On Leadership | On Talent Acquisition and Interviewing |
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Too Much Pay, Too Much Deference: Behavioral Corporate Finance, CEOs, and Corporate Governance This paper may be having its tin anniversary (it came out in 2005), but that doesn't make it any less of a compelling dissertation. Troy Paredes, who was an associate law professor at the time of writing but has since recently completed a stint as the Commissioner of the US SEC, theorizes in the article a causative correlation between executive compensation, corporate governance, and CEO overconfidence. Moreover, the author suggests realistic tools for managing overconfidence, both fiduciarily and managerially. Finally, in case you weren't convinced, the example cases mentioned will provide a nice dose of nostalgia, and everyone appreciates a trip down memory lane. The Wall Street Journal / Hay Group CEO compensation survey 2013: "On the way up: pay levels increase as companies brace for pay volatility" All signs are pointing to the fact that "starting here, starting now, honey, everything's coming up roses!" This survey, published jointly by The Wall Street Journal and The Hay Group, summarizes 2013 as the first year since 2010 in which CEO pay showed solid increases. The report further discusses trends in bonuses, long-term incentivization, and perquisites, which suggest that the cheery outlook is tempered by lessons from The Great Recession.
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Leadership Is in the Eye of the Beholder: How Images of Leadership that People Have Differ Across the Organization We might have to stretch the pun a bit, but we think it's fair to say that The Center for Creative Leadership lived up to its name by engaging people in this survey, wherein they presented people with seventeen different hand-drawn pictures (e.g., geese in V formation; tree; conductor; shaking hands) and asked them to identify which image most closely fit their idea of leadership. Because people are uniquely individual rather than cogs in a formic collective, it is only natural that they have different ideas of what leadership is. By analyzing the results of this "Rorschach test", this survey drills down on what those differences might be and suggests ways to adapt one's leadership style to improve team cohesion and performance. Learning to Lead in Uncertain Times If popular culture is anything to go by, we no longer shy from stories about flawed heroes struggling to overcome scenarios that are neither black nor white. That is small comfort, however, when you're trying to navigate a division out of a downward spiral or a company in a new direction, and the lack of clear answers threatens to paralyze you. This Wall Street Journal article suggests strategies for building tolerance for and coping with ambiguous situations, skills that will only become more relevant as time goes on. When Power Makes Others Speechless: The Negative Impact of Leader Power on Team Performance How much leadership is too much? What does "too much leadership" even mean? This paper -- written by a triumvirate of professors from Harvard School of Business, Duke's Fuqua School of Business, and University of Michigan's Ross School of Business -- thoroughly explores the relationship between the subjective experience of power on leadership dynamics and team performance. As you may have guessed, it's not good. After comprehensively summarizing their eight hypotheses and the three cases that were designed to test them (we told you this paper was thorough!), the authors discuss the modes by which team performance is diminished and suggest tactics to curb overly dominating leadership behavior. |
The “shelf life” for executive candidates is getting shorter In today's market, executive candidates are best described as:
If you need a hint, you can find it in this essay, in which Clark Waterfall, Managing Director of our own BSG Team Ventures, discusses the ramifications of the current hiring environment with respect to securing candidates and negotiating offers. (ɐ) :ɹəʍsuɐ Narcissism in organizational contexts In our quest to understand and classify, it has become popular to "diagnose" business executives and leaders with unfavorable behavioral patterns. Psychopathy was in vogue a few years ago. The new preoccupation is "narcissism", and apparently every CEO -- from Jack Welch to Michael Eisner, from Larry Ellison to Bob Nardelli -- is a narcissist. Sometimes it helps to take a step back and think about what a word really means ... which is what this thoughtful review does. Originally published in Human Resource Management Review, this article quickly sketches different types and models of narcissism before looking at the positive and negative influences of narcissism on leader effectiveness, organizational citizenship behaviors, and counterproductive work behaviors. It also touches briefly on implications on recruitment, performance assessment and enhancement, and problems and pitfalls. |
| For Entrepreneurs | For Candidates | Books |
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The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Making of a Successful Entrepreneur Nature vs. nurture? A false dichotomy of course, but no less useful for enabling the understanding of successful entrepreneurs. This report, funded in part by the Kauffman Foundation, explores company founders' opinions and observations about their own trajectories and what influenced success or failure of their businesses. [Please note that all participants in the survey have founded at least one business that had made it beyond the startup stage.] Startup Genome Report Extra on Premature Scaling Entrepreneurs often ask themselves: "How do we grow?" Perhaps an even better question is: "Should we grow?" Based on data collected from 3200+ ventures, the Startup Genome Report is a thorough analysis coauthored by researchers from UC Berkeley and Stanford, with contributions from Steve Blank, the Sandbox Network, and other accelerators. Not only does this article provide insight into a nebulous, under-researched process, it highlights pitfalls and warning signs. Family Firms in the Eyes of Private Equity Companies Forgive the tautology, but it is common sense that in order to attract private equity and venture capital firms, the investment has to be attractive. Of course, it may be difficult to discern what the decision-makers want, so it's just as important to know what they don't want. This survey, conducted by visiting Wharton researcher Darya Granata, enumerates 11 distinct target characteristics in which private equity firms perceive a great difference between family-owned and nonfamily-owed companies -- and that perception is not usually flattering for the family-owned companies. Augmented with quotes from the survey respondents, the paper clearly illustrates attributes common to family-owned companies that can become stumbling blocks or risks that prevent funding or acquisition.
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A Second Chance to Make the Right Impression To echo a sentiment expressed in a recent film, communication can be more like a game of imitation in which both participants play roles, and everything that is done or not done, or said or not said, is code that must be pored over and interpreted. In this paradigm, presentation is analogous to a coded message; perception is the cipher; and the impression is the deciphered message. Therefore, in order to help others draw the correct impression, you must identify the relevant framework of perception and present the necessary cues tuned to that framework. This Harvard Business Review article doesn't just identify the different biases and lenses that make up our frameworks of perception; it suggests ways to frame your communication -- oral or otherwise -- such that you are making the impression you want to make. 5 Ways To Spot A Bad Boss In An Interview "A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Whether or not you were looking for the opportunity to spread your wings and try something new, bear in mind that you deserve to be impressed just as much as your (potentially) new employer deserves to be impressed by you. Keep an eye out for the danger signs noted in this article so you don't end up making a career move that you come to regret. |
Who A hiring mistake can cost $1.5M or more, by way of lost productivity, lost sales, and negatively impacted client relations and employee morale. Says who? Says Geoff Smart and Randy Street -- Chairman/Founder and Managing Director of ghSMART, respectively. Undaunted by common professional perception of hiring as a mystic art, Smart and Street identify common "voodoo methods" to avoid, strong interviewing preparation methods and interviewing techniques, and proper identification of "A Players": the 10% of the challengers who have a 90% chance of beating the challenge. Buy the Book » Strategy-Driven Talent Management: A Leadership Imperative There is growing consensus that a company's financial future is linked to its ability to acquire and, more importantly, cultivate talent. You may have seen articles concluding as much on our other newsletters. Rob Silzer, a Zicklin School of Business professor, and Ben E. Dowell, formerly vice president of talent management for Bristol-Myers Squibb, provide a deep, deep dive into the best practices into the newly emerging field of strategic talent management. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers Ben Horowitz drops some massive knowledge on, well, everything in his new book, which is an collection of illuminating yet humbling anecdotes drawn from his experience as an entrepreneur. A invaluable asset for dreamers and veterans alike, The Hard Thing About Hard Things delivers some straight talk about real-world problems, such as how to fire friends or poach competitors; and how to cultivate and sustain a CEO mentality or know when to cash in. Buy Book » |
| Women and Leadership | Video | Video |
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Taking Gender into Account: Theory and Design for Women's Leadership Development Programs Whether it is a matter of nature or nurture, women often lead differently than men do. And whether it is a matter of overt or institutionalized sexism, women are often passed over for leadership opportunities. This INSEAD article thoroughly investigates the circumstances that can make it difficult for women to develop a credible "leadership identity" and outlines three principals that should form the foundation for any leadership program designed for women. Women in Alternative Investments: A Marathon, Not a Sprint Paul Tudor Jones famously remarked at a talk at the University of Virginia, "As soon as that baby's lips touched that girl's bosom, forget it. [...] Every single investment idea ... every dies to understand what is going to go up or go down is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience ... which a man will never share." As evidenced by the key findings in this report by Rothstein Kass, this sentiment permeates common (male) perception, even if it usually remains unvoiced. As their survey indicates, however, there is a growing body of research that shows women portfolio managers tend to outperform; this combined with the ongoing interest in increasing diversity suggests their is a trend towards a greater interest in women-owned and -managed alternative investment funds. 2013 Chief Executive Study: Women CEOs of the Last Ten Years Clocking in at just under three minutes, this video by Strategy & PwC quickly summarizes the state of the gender divide as it stands now as well as extrapolates trends for the future. The full report suggests that companies are starting to find ways to promote and develop women from within, and predicts that by 2040, 1/3 of incoming CEOs will be women.
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Talent Management Best Practices: Identifying and Developing High Potential Leaders [35:34] As the current talent ages out of the job pool, more and more companies are facing what is called the "5/50 leadership crisis": in five years, fifty percent of their executive talent will have retired or left. Kevin Groves, Assistant Professor of Organizational Theory and Management at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management provides a compelling case for why strategic human resource management must be a sustained investment, especially during a down economy. He presents his research by way of case studies from the healthcare industry.
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Givers, Takers and Matchers [18:26] "It's a dog-eat-dog world", they say -- but does that have to be the case? Can't the nice guys finish first? Adam Grant, Wharton professor and author of "Give and Take", says they can, but it's not just any old nice guys who make it. After outlining three archetypal personae -- The Giver, The Taker, and The Matcher -- he provides practical tips for being a Giver in the business world. In particular, Adam Grant touches on the realistic paranoia one should maintain in the presence of Takers; the difference between the Givers that sink to the bottom and the Givers that rise to the top; the best way to sustain Giving over a longer period of time; and the world of difference you can make by asking for help and promoting Giving in others. Sprinkled with anecdotes and self-effacing humor, this refreshingly optimistic talk would inspire even The Grinch to treat his dog Max with a five-minute favor.
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