chain, a business he had built, in order to focus on two core
growth businesses – Premier Inn and Costa Coffee. At Volvo,
Johansson sold off one of the jewels in the crown of Swedish
industry when he sold the car division to Ford.
Virtually every CEO we studied faced the challenge of driving major strategic and cultural change. Unlike many of the
North American and UK firms, however, those on the European continent and in Scandinavia – whether because of better
management or because of less intense pressures from shareholders – were generally able to avoid major downsizing.
These CEOs believed that their moves were an affirmation – not a rejection – of their firms’ fundamental capabilities and values. As Nokia’s Ollila explained, “My job was twofold: to make sure that people had an opportunity to realize
the potential of what there was in this business, number one.
And number two, we needed to get rid of the no-growth business – the cable, the televisions, etc.”
One CEO, while reflecting on the wrenching task of eliminating thousands of jobs in Europe and the United States,
observed that the move ensured the firm’s future competitiveness and created thousands of job opportunities for people
in developing countries. Although this CEO struggled with
his decision, he came to believe that it was consistent with his
own and the firm’s core values because “the people who we’re
hiring today in India have the same value in God’s eyes as the
people who work in our hometown.”
Holding the Center
The legitimacy to chart such a radical path forward is not
conferred by title alone; it must be earned. CEOs who take the
commitment of their employees for granted risk destroying
the social fabric of their organizations: While they move in
one direction, the rest of the organization stays stuck or, worse,
heads the opposite way. HCHP leaders, however – through intense, focused, and dogged day-to-day involvement with their
people and operations – manage to hold the center. They almost personally create the link between the people who do
the work and the performance they must deliver.
The CEOs we studied did so by combining four strategies.
First, they earned the trust of their organizations through their
openness to the unvarnished truth. Second, they were deeply
engaged with their people, and their exchanges were direct
and personal; employees in the companies we studied had
a particularly close connection with the CEO and were seldom surprised to meet him or her. Third, having earned legitimacy and trust, these CEOs were able to mobilize their people
around a focused agenda. Finally, while they were all strong individuals, these senior leaders realized that they could succeed
only as part of a committed leadership team, and they devoted
considerable efforts to building their firm’s collective leadership
capabilities. Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Earning trust. The CEOs we spoke with were remarkably
open in sharing information with, and receiving feedback
High-Commitment, High-Performance CEOs
Bang & Olufsen
Torben Ballegaard Sørensen
(former CEO)
Struer, Denmark
Audio and video products
Becton, Dickinson
Ed Ludwig
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
Medical supplies, devices, and
diagnostics
BUPA
Val Gooding
London
Health care insurance and
services
Campbell Soup
Doug Conant
Camden, New Jersey
Food products
Cummins
Tim Solso
Columbus, Indiana
Engines and related
technologies
Getinge AB
Carl Bennet (former CEO)
Getinge, Sweden
Health care cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilization solutions
H&M
Stefan Persson
(former CEO)
Stockholm
Designer clothing and apparel
Herman Miller
Brian Walker
Zeeland, Michigan
Office furniture
Hewitt Associates
Russ Fradin
Lincolnshire, Illinois
Human resources services
Husqvarna
Bengt Andersson
Jönköping, Sweden
Outdoor power products
IKEA
Anders Dahlvig
Älmhult, Sweden
Furniture and housewares
Infinity Pharmaceuticals
Steven H. Holtzman
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Oncology drug research and
development
Italcementi
Carlo Pesenti
Bergamo, Italy
Cement, concrete, and related
construction materials
Lafarge
Bertrand Collomb
(former CEO)
Paris
Cement, aggregates, and other
building materials
McCain Foods
Dale Morrison
Florenceville, New Brunswick,
Canada
Potato products, frozen foods,
and juices
Nokia
Jorma Ollila (former CEO)
Espoo, Finland
Cell phones and related
technologies
Quest Diagnostics
Kenneth W. Freeman
(former CEO)
Madison, New Jersey
Medical testing, information,
and services
Royal Mail Group
Allan Leighton (chairman)
London
Postal and distribution services
Standard Chartered Bank
Peter Sands
London
International banking
Timken
James W. Griffith
Canton, Ohio
Antifriction products, power
transmissions, and specialty
steels
Whitbread
Alan Parker
Luton, United Kingdom
Hospitality and leisure services
Volvo
Leif Johansson
Gothenburg, Sweden
Trucks, buses, construction
vehicles, and industrial engines
