A man who shied away from his own fame !!
Let me start from the end
Jan 25,1991 — Gillette team receives an advance copy of the cover of Forbes magazine, which featured an artist’s rendition of Colman Mockler, CEO of Gillette, standing atop a mountain holding a giant razor above his head in a triumphal pose, while the vanquished languish on the hillsides below. The other executives razzed the publicity-shy Mockler, who had likely declined requests to be photographed for the cover in the first place, amused at seeing him portrayed as a corporate version of Conan the Triumphant. Walking back to his office, minutes after seeing this public acknowledgment of his sixteen years of struggle, Mockler crumpled to the floor, struck dead by a massive heart attack.
Trendy leaders of today exude magnetism, some even iron their appearance while some design their body language ! In truth, true leadership is about action not position.
All lines in Italics in this article, are excerpts from Jim Collins book ‘Good to Great’. A must read !! He has shared interesting stories of many Level 5 leaders, but this one on Colman Mockler, is etched hard on my mind.
As per Collins, Level 5 leadership is about spearheading their companies from Good to Great. Level 5 leaders are a special material. He goes on to say ‘Humility + Will = Level 5” — modest and willful , humble and fearless — a strange duality
He cites a very good example — that of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s personal modesty, shy nature and awkward manner were mistaken by many as signs of weakness.
Who was Colman Mockler ?
CEO of Gillette from 1975 to 1991.
A quiet and reserved man, always courteous, Mockler had the reputation of a gracious, almost patrician gentleman.
During his tenure, there were three hostile threats — Two hostile takeover attempts by another company. Third attempt by an investment group that bought 5.9% of Gillette stock and initiated a proxy battle to seize control of the board, hoping to sell the company to the highest bidder and pocket a quick gain on their shares.
Any other leader would have capitulated, cashing on these generous golden parachutes giving shareholders an instantaneous gain of almost 44% on their stock.
But Colman Mockler did not capitulate, he chose to fight for the future greatness of Gillette. He inspired Gillette executives to win the battle — couple of asserting phone calls by these executives, and the battle was won.
What made the visionary hold his ground and fight the takeover battle?
Gillette’s Sensor blades, Sensor for Women, Mach 3 blades — the vision to make our lives easier with their innovative products; the belief that these products would soar the future value of the shares far exceeding the current price. A company takeover would have shelved these products and innovations.
The prospect of short-term gains did not trick him to succumb to take immature decision. He could have retired to a life of leisure after pocketing his millions, but he did not !
In the end, Mockler and the board were proved right, stunningly so. If a shareflipper had accepted the 44% price premium offered by takeover bid on October 31,1986, and then invested the full amount in the general market for ten years, through the end of 1996, he would have come three times worse off than a shareholder who had stayed with Mockler and Gillette. There you go !
I strongly believe that the character sketch of Colman Mockler is a dependable lesson for those who are in pursuit of true leadership — a placid persona hiding an inner intensity.
In his conclusion, Jim Collins says, and one of my favorite lines in the chapter — It wouldn’t have been an option within Colman Mockler’s value system to take the easy path and turn the company over to those who would milk it like a cow, destroying its potential to become great, any more that it would have been an option for Lincoln to sue for peace and lose forever the chance of an enduring great nation.
