麦肯锡总裁致新任CEO的一封信(中英文).docx

麦肯锡总裁致新任CEO的一封信亲爱的弗兰克：在昨天晚餐时见到您真是太好了。再次对您被任命为首席执行官表示祝贺。这是一个巨大的荣誉，我相信，这也是您渴望的一次机会。我很高兴您认为我们有关首席执行官履新过渡的讨论很有用。您提到，如果我把我们讨论的要点简单记下来，将会对您大有帮助，因此，我现在就提笔把它们写下来。我的建议是，将关注重点放在实现一次成功的领导力过渡上而不是放在一个成功首席执行官的角色和属性上，对于后者，有关的论述汗牛充栋。我的建议主要基于我对许多首席执行官履新过渡的个人观察，并兼带对世界各地许多一流首席执行官和董事长的采访。1.了解企业背景至关重要。作为一名从外部“空降”的首席执行官，您必须尽快了解这家企业的历史、董事会结构、治理方式和民族传统，更不用说还要了解它的财务业绩、士气和能力。然后，您必须通过其他客户和利益相关方的视角来看待这种背景。如能尽快认识他们看待事物的方式，这本身就极具价值；对于您在面试和应聘过程中已经建立的任何假设或成见，以及洞见，它也能帮助提供一种真实性评估。有太多的首席执行官的履新过渡期从一开始就不顺利，因为新任领导人必须知道，在一种企业背景下有效的方法并不一定会顺利过渡到另一种企业背景中。经验是宝贵的，但它也会造成偏见。您不会经常获得这种回顾和反思的机会或时间，因此，要抓住这种机会。2.要充分认清“第一个100天的重要性”。在我看来，这不过是为了应付怀疑论者而随意确定的一个数字。例如，在企业处于危机期间或转折关头，您根本不会有100天的过渡期，那太显奢侈。而在其他情况下，就像您目前正在步入的状态，您可以有时间采取更为稳妥的方法。当您对自己的知识还没有充分自信时，您不希望或不需要对（比如说）战略或人事或核心控制流程做出决策。暂不决策与优柔寡断之间有很大的区别。关键是要对您的过渡期的时间范围深思熟虑和成竹在胸，并对您认为是领导力成功过渡的构成要素具有非常清晰的认识。设定具体的过渡目标（例如，建立与您的高管团队的互信，培养与您的董事长的良好关系）。() |/darticle3/list.asp?id=144629 | 52职位交接包括离任与上任。不要忽视以优雅而专业的方式与您原来的工作岗位脱钩的任务。有风度地告别从前的工作除了是正确的做法之外，人们也会注意并记住您的履新表现。人们会注意到并记住，您是如何谈论和感谢您的前任首席执行官，以及您对历史怀有多少敬意。3.作为新任首席执行官接管权力是令人兴奋的，但也可能是身不由己的。上任之初的一个关键任务是要确定优先事项。在上任第一天，您就会收到一份约定事项和出席会议的清单。其中许多会议是必须参加的（例如，董事会会议、公司年度大会等），但也有些会议是由过去的惯例和您的前任的偏好驱动的。您要花些时间来决定，哪些会议是自己希望参加，并仔细考虑您的决定将会发出什么样的信号，产生什么样的影响。别人将会观察和注意您在履新初期以及参加最初几次会议时的行事风格。尽早树立您的形象和表明立场将至关重要。同样重要的是，尽早与各级员工广泛接触，了解他们的情绪和文化，了解他们实际在干些什么，以及他们对企业有何感受。人们将会特别注意您如何召开内部会议，您如何倾听别人的意见，以及您对流程重视或忽视的程度。当您确定自己的优先任务时，您需要了解不同的相关方例如，您的董事长、主要投资者和分析师、监管机构、工会，以及自己组织中的员工的不同期望。您将收到许多制定大胆期望值的建议，但在过渡时期，更重要的是了解各种期望。这种了解将会帮助您对自己正在制定的优先任务进行压力测试，同时也检测自己拥有多大的自由度。它还将帮助您建立自己的沟通方式。4时间将是一个很大的挑战，尤其是因为您真正能自由支配的时间十分有限。似乎每个人都想占用您一部分时间。无论是企业外部，还是企业内部，都是如此。在您时间的使用上，以及在您将做哪些事，不做哪些事的问题上，一定要毫不通融。要避免养成因为时间压力而取消会议的习惯。这会使您看起来杂乱无章，并会挫伤那些支持您的人的士气。不要低估突发事件的可能性及影响，尤其是当一切事情都进展顺利时。要为非议和危机留一些余地您不知道它们何时会发生，但它们确实会发生。经验法则是，您可以预期，每年至少会发生一次可能对您职业生涯构成威胁的事件。5.您完全清楚，构建自己的高管团队，以及与关键人物建立关系将是一个基本的或许也是最重要的初期任务。对于您这种情况，作为一名从外部“空降”的首席执行官，您需要逐渐了解目前的管理团队，了解他们的动机、能力、对待风险的态度，以及运营方式。以开明的态度，花一些时间，来重新评估最初的印象或过去的经验。（如果您是从企业内部提拔的首席执行官，这一点将更有必要。）一如往常，如果您觉得有必要的话，就不要害怕迎接挑战：在您作为首席执行官的任期中，及早做出艰难的抉择可能会更容易一些。总会有这样一种诱惑：在您身边不仅有您尊重的人，而且还有与您情投意合的人，以及与您想法一致的人。这一点确实很重要，但可能同样重要的是，要有“牡蛎有容，珍珠乃大”的胸怀。这种多样性应该能提高质疑的质量，减少决策偏见和风险。它还会向范围更广泛的组织发出有关公开性的信号。6不要低估与您的董事会，尤其是与董事长，尽快建立一种职业化的、基于相互尊重的共事关系的重要性。董事会与董事长的支持与信任其重要性无论怎样强调都不会过分，您需要这种支持与信任，尤其是当遇到困难时。当然，这种支持与信任是双向的，而为此投入必要的时间，并尽早启动这一进程是必不可少的。不要认为这只是董事长的责任。特别是要密切观察您的董事长，清楚地了解他喜欢怎样管理董事会，以及他希望如何获取信息。董事会是由许多个体组成的，而每个人都有自己独特的经历、观点和优先任务，记住这一点很有好处；了解董事会成员的这些情况很有价值，并会受益无穷。请记住，正是董事会任命您担任首席执行官，正是董事会要为您的成功对该公司的利益相关方负责。董事会成员，尤其是董事长，将像任何人一样渴望您有一个良好的开端，并且与董事会建立有效的工作关系，以及在组织内部树立信誉。当您努力建立自己与董事长和董事会的关系时，还要确保使自己逐步熟悉正式的企业治理原则和公司议事程序。您的董事长和主要机构投资者期望您如此，而且您也不希望在这些技术细节上出纰漏。在过渡期间，当您在建立自己作为首席执行官与（例如）客户、投资者、外聘顾问、媒体和供应商的关系时，还有许多其他关系可能值得您花费时间。但您不可能在上任伊始就做完所有这些事，因此，根据您对轻重缓急的判断，绘制一份路线图，确定您将与（和不与）哪些人接触，以及何时接触，这是十分有用的。与您的高管团队分享这份路线图，并征求他们的意见可能是明智之举。此外，这里的关键思路是要有所控制和小心选择，而不是让环境或您的员工来支配您自己的优先事项。7您的直接支持团队的质量和信誉将是关键所在。选择自己的私人助理、提供支持的办公室，以及身边使用的技术设施，将是您最重要（有时也是最困难）的早期决策。他们应该既能支持和反映您自己的风格和工作方法，又能起到尽可能为您减轻负担的作用。我认识的一位首席执行官曾犯了一个大错误，他保留了其前任的助手和支持机构，尽管他承诺要彻底改变议程。8一种明智的做法是，尽早制定针对内部和外部受众的明确沟通战略，重新认识那些出现在外部媒体中、对企业内部和董事会看法的影响超过了您最初想象的事物。您的组织和您的客户可以见到和接触到您本人吗？或者您将主要通过电话作为沟通工具？您将如何利用各种沟通技术（如网迅、博客和视频信息）来放大您的存在和影响范围？您将如何利用管理层会议来达成谅解和一致？在媒体和投资者眼中，您希望或需要具有哪种外部个人形象？在企业的沟通和外部形象中，您的董事长将会扮演什么角色？发布一致性的消息非常重要。随着时间的推移，您将需要制定协调一致的主题和方向，它们使您能够“讲这个故事”。但在首席执行官的上任过渡期，尤其是如果您是一位外部“空降”的首席执行官，您对自己的关键消息可能并不清楚，而且事实上，人们可能不希望或不期望您发布过于详细和明确的消息。在这种情况下，专注于自己的信念、自己的立场可能是非常有效的。最终，这些信念和立场可以演变为能够反映您的战略重点和方向，以及您自己的风格和个性的具体主题。不要低估由于说得太多太快，或者做出随后无法兑现的承诺（有时是无意识地）而可能造成的损害和混乱。9对于所有担任领导职位的人来说，一个长期性的挑战是如何获取客观、均衡的反馈和信息。在首席执行官的过渡期，这个问题可能更具有挑战性。一旦任命宣布，关系就会发生转变，无论是从环境层面，还是从口气氛围层面。现在，您直接听到的话通常将被以某种方式过滤。人们可能会比以往更倾向于告诉您他们认为您希望听到的话。与此相反，另一些人则可能会过分强调自己的批评意识和各种担忧，他们的目的是希望给您留下印象，或者只是反映了他们自己的气质和挫败感。成功的首席执行官采用各种技巧来避免出现这种问题，但所有这些技巧都涉及某种三方关系和观点的多样性。董事长和董事会需要发挥自己的作用，正如投资者、客户和供应商需要发挥自己的作用一样保持一种面向外部的态势，以核实来自市场的信息与来自自己组织内部的信息是否一致始终是一种明智之举。一些首席执行官利用外聘顾问来帮助获得洞察力；还有一些首席执行官则采用更为正式的技术，如调查和系统化的反馈机制。为您的组织内部和外部的持不同意见者留出一些空间和时间。寻找一些空间和时间去与一线员工交谈。大多数董事会每年都会审核首席执行官的表现。在您上任的第一年，您可能会发现，6个月进行一次审核也很有帮助。可能这听起来像是不必要的额外压力，但实际上，它会提供更多客观的反馈。您的目标应该是建立自己坚实可靠的事实依据，因此，应该对呈交给您的数据和信息（尤其是在担任首席执行官的初期）保持质疑。它是如何收集的？它的可靠性如何？过去是否曾有过任何定义上的问题？这种明智的做法会增加您的知识，以及对您收到的信息的信心（有时会正好相反！但仍有其价值）。这些做法也会向您的组织发出一个强有力的信号，强调数据与信息准确性和提出明确假设的重要性。10这份建议书的篇幅已经偏长，但最后还有一个关于个人优先任务和基本规则的想法。首席执行官的角色具有耗尽一个人时间和精力的结构潜力。一位首席执行官曾对我说过，“现实就是失去自由。”这很难逃避，也很难停止。然而，也有一些窍门和技术可能对您有所帮助。重要的是，要尽早至少在您没有处于那种需要每周7天、每天24小时连轴转的特殊情况下的时候确定您准备如何度过自己的首席执行官生涯。您会经常在周末开会和出差吗？您会信守度假的承诺吗？您打算把乘飞机的时间用于工作，还是作为休息放松的机会？您将经常到外面参加社交活动和晚餐吗？重要的是，要比较早地确定您自己的行为模式和优先事项这不仅是为了您和您的家庭，也是为了使您的组织能尽早适应。制定能够减轻压力、消耗和损害的简单习惯和规则可能大有裨益例子包括在准备上床睡觉的前两个小时不要看自己的黑莓手机；通过电子邮件或移动电话控制自己的受访率；设置酒精消费量限额；精心计划差旅行程，以避免多跑冤枉路；以及预留出专门的时间用于健身锻炼或非工作性阅读。此外，正如我们在晚餐时所讨论的，9小时的间隔规则总是帮助我在头一天的最后一次约见与第二天的第一次约见之间游刃有余并使我获得合理的晚间睡眠时间。最后，不要忘记，首席执行官的职位会带来一种名人因素以及权力，还有随之而来的所有好处、诱惑和危险。 弗兰克，我希望这封信是对我们讨论内容的有益小结。我在此附上一个网页，其中总结了“新任首席执行官在过渡期可能会问的一些关键问题”。希望它将是未来几个月中对您有用的一张清单。正如我所说，很少有绝对的对与错，但重要的是，要牢记其中的每一项选择。当然，我将很有兴趣听听您的经历和反馈。同时，正如我们所讨论的，我将安排您与其他几位首席执行官会面。我敢肯定，您会很高兴认识他们，对您来说，他们将成为一个有益的同侪小组和参谋团。祝您履新顺利，我敢肯定，它将成为一次很棒的经历。我期待大约一个月后再次与您见面下次该轮到我来买单了。伦敦2010年6月1日首席执行官履新过渡期自检清单1.我是否仔细考虑了自己履新企业的背景情况不仅从我自己的角度，也从所有重要利益相关方的角度来观察？2.在我的头脑中，是否确定了自己领导力过渡的时间范围和预期结果？3.通过全面了解其他人对我有何期望，我是否确定了自己履新初期的优先事项？4.我将如何控制自己的议程和分配自己的时间？5.我是否为选择自己的高管团队制定了明确的流程和时限？6.我是否做好了充分准备，与自己的董事长和董事会建立良好的关系？7.我是否有一种建立必要的支持办公室和办公设施的机制？8.我是否仔细考虑过自己的沟通计划包括内部沟通和外部沟通？9.我是否有一种用于获取不偏不倚的反馈和信息的机制？10.我是否确定了适当的个人基本规则？以上转载至-麦肯锡季刊2010.6.Letter to a newly appointed CEO McKinseys former managing director Ian Davis offers to new CEOs advice distilled from his experience supporting executives during their transitions into the role.JUNE 2010 Ian Davis LondonJune 1, 2010Dear Frank,It was great to meet for dinner yesterday. Once again, congratulations on your appointment as CEO. Its a big honour, and an opportunity that I am sure you will relish.I am glad that you found our discussion on CEO transitions useful. You mentioned that it would be helpful to you if I jotted down the key points we discussed, so I am putting pen to paper. My suggestions are focused on making a successful leadership transitionnot on the role and attributes of a successful CEO, about which so much has already been written. They are based primarily on personal observation of many CEO transitions, as well as on interviews with a number of leading CEOs and chairmen from around the world.1. Context is critical. As an outside appointment, you must quickly learn about the history, board structure, governance, and national heritage of the company, not to mention its financial performance, morale, and capabilities. Then you must look at this context through the eyes of other constituencies and stakeholders. An early sense of how they might see things is valuable in its own right; it also can help provide a reality check on any assumptions or prejudices, as well as insights, that you may have built up during your interview and recruitment process. Too many CEO transitions get off to a poor start as new leaders learn that what worked in one context doesnt necessarily transfer well to another. Experience is valuable, but it also creates bias. You wont often get such an opportunity or time to step back and reflect, so take it.2. We talked about the alleged importance of the first 100 days. In my view, this is an arbitrary number to be treated with scepticism. In a crisis or turnaround situation, for example, you would not have the luxury of a 100-day transition. In other cases, like the one you are stepping into, you can afford to take a more measured approach. You dont want or need to make decisions on, say, strategy or people or core control processes when you are not confident in your knowledge. There is a big difference between being undecided and indecisive.The key is to be thoughtful and purposeful about your transition time frame and to be very clear on what you believe would constitute a successful leadership transition. Set specific transition goals (for example, establishing the trust of your top team and developing a good relationship with your chairman). Transitions involve leaving as well as starting. Do not overlook the task of disengaging from your prior job elegantly and professionally. Apart from it being the right thing to do, people will notice and remember. People will also notice and remember how you talk about and acknowledge your predecessor as CEO, and how much respect you have for the past.3. Taking over as a new CEO is exhilarating but can also be overwhelming. A critical task early on is to establish priorities. On day one, you will be handed a list of commitments and meetings. Many of these will be nonnegotiable (for instance, board meetings, annual general meetings), but some will be driven by history and the preferences of your predecessors. Take time to decide which ones you want to attend, bearing in mind the signalling effect your decisions will have. Your style in these early transition days and in your first meetings will be watched and noted. It will be important to establish early what you stand for. It will also be important to engage early with employees at all levels to understand the mood and culture and to get a sense of what they actually do and how they feel about the company. People will pay particular attention to how you conduct internal meetings, how you listen, and how much attention you do or do not give to process.As you establish your priorities you will need to understand the expectations of the different constituentsfor example, your chairman, key investors and analysts, regulators, unions, as well as the people in your organisation. You will receive a lot of advice to set bold expectations, but during the transition period it is more important to understand expectations. This understanding will help you stress test your emerging priorities and your degrees of freedom. It will also help you establish your communications approach.4. Time will be a big challenge, particularly as your truly discretionary time will be limited. It will seem that everyone wants a piece of you. This will be true externally and internally. Be ruthless on the use of your time and on what you will and wont do. Avoid developing a habit of cancelling meetings because of time pressures. This will make you look disorganised and will be demoralising to those you stand up. Dont underestimate the possibility and impact of unforeseen events, particularly when things are going well. Leave space for reflection and for crisesyou wont know when they will happen, but they will. The rule of thumb is that you can expect at least one potentially career-threatening event a year. 5. You are fully aware that constructing your top team and building relationships with key people will be a fundamentalperhaps the most importantearly task. In your case, coming in as an external appointment, you will need to get to know the current team and to understand their motivations, capabilities, attitude to risk, and ways of operating. Be open minded and take time to reassess initial impressions or previous experiences. (This would be all the more true had you been an internal CEO appointment.) As always, dont be shy of biting the bullet if you feel it necessary: it can be easier to make tough calls early in your tenure as CEO. There is always the temptation to surround yourself not just with people you respect but with people with whom you feel comfortable and who are aligned with your way of thinking. This is important, but it can also be important to have a “bit of grit in the oyster.” This diversity should enhance the quality of challenge and reduce decision-making bias and risk. It will also send a message of openness to the broader organisation.6. Do not underestimate the importance of building a professional, respect-based peer relationship quickly with your board and, particularly, with your chairman. Its difficult to overstate the importance of the support and confidence of bothyou will need them, particularly when the going gets tough. This is a two-way street, of course, but its essential to invest the necessary time and to start this process early. Do not feel that this is solely the responsibility of the chairman. In particular, observe your chairman closely and get a good feel of how he likes to run the board and how he likes to be kept informed. Its useful to remember that the board consists of individuals, each with his or her own experiences, perspectives, and priorities; its valuable and rewarding to understand these. Remember, it is the board that appointed you and it is the board that is accountable to the companys stakeholders for your success. They, and particularly the chairman, will be as anxious as anyone that you get off to a solid start and establish an effective working relationship with the board, as well as credibility within the organisation.As you work on building your relationships with your chairman and board, also make sure that you become familiar with the formal corporate governance principles and company by-laws. Your chairman and key institutional investors will expect it, and you dont want to get caught out on such technicalities.There will be many other relationships that could merit your time during the transition period when you are establishing yourself as CEOfor example, with customers, investors, external advisers, media, and suppliers. You will not be able to do them all justice initially, so its useful to draw up a map of whom you will (and wont) contact and when, based on your judgement of priorities. It may be advisable to share this map with your top team and seek their input. Again, the key thought here is to get control and make mindful choices, rather than letting circumstances or your staff dictate your priorities.7. The quality and credibility of your direct support team will be key. Your choice of personal assistant and of the support office and technical infrastructure around you will be among your most important (and sometimes most difficult) early decisions. They should both support and reflect your own style and method of operating and be designed to take as much of the burden off your shoulders as possible. One CEO I know made a big mistake in keeping his predecessors assistant and support set-up, even though he was committed to a radical change agenda.8. It is advisable to developearlya clear transition communications strategy, both for internal and external audiences, recognising that what appears in the external media has a bigger influence on internal and board perceptions than you might initially think. Are you going to be personally visible and accessible to your organisation and to your customers, or are you primarily going to delegate through the line? How are you going to use communication technologies (such as WebEx, blogs, and video messaging) to leverage your presence and reach? How will you use management conferences to build understanding and alignment? What sort of external personal profile do you want or need to have in the media and with investors? What role will your chairman play in the companys communications and external profile? Consistency of message is key. Over time you will need to develop coherent themes and directions that enable you to “tell the story.” But in the CEO transition period, particularly if you are an outside appointment, you may not be clear on your key messages, and, in fact, people may not want or expect you to be too specific. In this circumstance, it can be highly effective to focus on your beliefs and what you stand for. In time, these can evolve into specific themes that reflect your strategic priorities and direction as well as your own style and personality. Dont underestimate the damage and confusion that can be caused by saying too much too soon or by making promises (sometimes unintended) that cannot be delivered on subsequently.9. A perennial challenge for all in positions of authority is how to get objective, balanced feedback and information. This can be all the more problematic in a CEO transition. As soon as an appointment is announced, relationships shift in both context and tone. What you hear directly will now usually be filtered in some way. People may be more prone than usual to tell you what they think you want to hear. Conversely others may overemphasise their criticisms and worries in their desire to make an impression or simply to reflect their own temperaments and frustrations. Successful CEOs use a range of techniques to get around the problem, but all involve some form of triangulation and diversity of perspective. The chairman and board have a role to play as do investors, customers, and suppliersits always advisable to keep an external orientation to check that the messages from the market are aligned with the messages from within your organisation. Some CEOs use external advisors to help gain perspective; others use more formal techniques such as surveys and systematic feedback mechanisms. Find some room and time for the mavericks inside and outside your organisation. Find some room and time to talk to frontline staff. Most boards review the CEOs performance annually. In your first year, you may well find it helpful to have a six-month review as well. This may sound like unwanted extra pressure, but in reality it will provide additional objective feedback.You should aim to build your own bulletproof fact base, so challenge data and information that is presented to you, particularly in your early days as CEO. How was it collected? How reliable is it? Have there been any definitional problems in the past? Such a judicious approach will increase your knowledge and confidence in the information you receive (and occasionally, but valuably, they will do the opposite!). They will also send a strong message to your organisation ab