Effective Enterprise Leadership: Counsel for enterprise leaders from enterprise leaders — CHAPTER 1
On Using This Book
The purpose of this book is to help people thrive in some of the world’s most challenging leadership roles. For the newly-appointed leader, it offers proven practices. For experienced leaders, it shares perspectives and ideas from peers.
This book has been co-created by experienced enterprise leaders. It represents the collective insight of nearly 50 current and former top executives. The businesses they lead, or have led, range from VC-funded startups to some of America’s most revered institutions, with enterprise values spanning from a few hundred million dollars to over $300 billion. They are both male and female. They come from many countries and have experience that covers the globe. They include first-time CEOs and veterans of multiple mandates. Some have enjoyed tremendous success, others have borne insurmountable tasks, and a few have experienced both. While their experiences are unique, they share a willingness to help others who lead, or will soon lead, commercial enterprises.
The combined experience of the contributors is far too rich to capture in a single book, let alone one sized to be read and referenced by some of the world’s busiest people. In a sense, this book is like a panel discussion with 50 leaders of some of the world’s most dynamic enterprises. Such an event would provide a wealth of ideas, yet never do justice to the breadth and depth of the participants’ experiences.
The format of this book is unusual. It is structured as a playbook, intended for reference as much as it is for reading. It has no case studies and no detailed examples. The details from my client work during my time at McKinsey are confidential, as are the identities and situational specifics of the executives who shared their experiences through interviews. To illustrate ideas, I have included and referenced the work of researchers, authors, and thought leaders from outside the field of business.
The substance of this book is a collection of discrete ideas, each summarized on a single page. The ideas are presented through description, relevant references, and direct quotes from contributing executives. The sources of the quotes, labeled “Peer Counsel,” are neither disclosed nor discernable. For a few topics, “Working Definitions” are provided to ensure that the language of certain enterprise leaders will have common meaning for all readers. It does not cover any topic in sufficient depth to be the final word; in fact, several topics merit — and already have — books dedicated to their exploration.
This book is subtitled “Essentials” because the ideas offered are common to enterprise leaders across a variety of industries and challenges. They do not address context-specific leadership challenges such as: turning around an enterprise in crisis; managing external stakeholders in highly regulated industries; leading businesses whose products or services have life-and-death outcomes for its clients; or leading startups from inception to establishment as an ongoing enterprise. Each leader will interpret and apply the essentials to meet their context-specific challenges.
Finally, this work is intended for enterprise leaders — present and future. While it may offer useful thoughts for Board members and other executives, it does not offer a complete framing or set of ideas for their roles.
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Read Chapter 2 here.
