What CEOs should learn from Bush's mistakes in Iraq
Most American CEOs are Republicans but William Holstein, editor of Chief Executive magazine, says despite that political affiliation they need to learn from the blunders the first MBA president, George W. Bush, and his team made in Iraq:
1 It's a mistake to surround yourself with people who agree with you all of the time. Any institution must tolerate a certain amount of debate about the right course of action; when you shut down internal debate, you put the organization at risk.
2 A leader needs multiple sources and multiple flows of information. A leader dependent on a single or even a handful of sources for crucial information about what is happening on the ground is in serious danger. "A driving curiosity is essential to avoid being blindsided," he says.
3 Arrogance and false pride are hugely destructive -- be it the leader's arrogance, or the organization's, which usually are linked.
4 Be sensitive to history's lessons. The message for U.S. presidents from Vietnam, for example, was to have a clear objective, bring overwhelming force to bear, achieve the objective, and leave. History can't dictate a leader's actions but should certainly inform it.
5 Every CEO must ask: "What are my blind spots? Am I getting the critical information I need?" Intel's Andy Grove wrote that "only the paranoid survive" and Mr. Holstein adds a corollary: "Only those humble enough to contemplate uncomfortable truths will long endure." |
