CEOs and Tough Choices - The Worst Part of Leadership

 

 

CEOs and Tough Choices – The Worst Part of Leadership

 

Note: This Commentary was written by Douglas Castle, Chairman and CEO of TNNWC Group, LLC, the publishing, information and services provider for emerging enterprises and growing businesses. For additional information about the author, visit http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/

Dear Friends and Readers:

The following article was brought to my attention by a colleague. It appeared in a SmartBrief Bulletin.

In reading the article that follows, your worst fears about the darker side of being a CEO (and serving the conflictory interests of your Board of Directors, your shareholders, your employees and your company’s customers) will sadly be confirmed. Being a CEO entails making many difficult choices. The ability to make difficult decisions and to implement them as expediently as is humanly (and humanely) possible is a trait that separates the winning CEO leaders from the rest of the pack.

Although Jack Welch is rather flippant in his treatment of a difficult tropic, the seriousness of making decisions which will severely impact the lives of individuals, as well as the welfare of the enterprise, cannot be overstated, nor should they be trivialized.

Being a leader requires a very strong emotional constitution. You will be respected, but you will often be disliked. Perhaps the most troublesome aspect of leadership is how you ultimately must face yourself after making some of these hurtful, but often necessary, decisions.

“Sometimes ‘tough’ does not mean being able to inflict or withstand pain –- sometimes ‘tough’ means being able to contend with your own conscience after you have made a painful choice.” – Douglas Castle

Enjoy the article.

Faithfully, Douglas Castle

(http://aboutdouglascastle.blogspot.com/ and http://www.tnnwc.com/)





Weed out weaklings to build your company, says Jack Welch
CEOs need to commit completely to their company -- even if it means making tough decisions or laying off workers, says Jack Welch, who ran General Electric for two decades. "Neutron Jack" said the company's results vindicated his decision to lay off the bottom 10% of his managers. "We played business like it was a sport," Welch said. "You make a game of it --you field the best team and weed out the weakest." Tulsa World (Okla.) (2/23) ####

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