I love to pay attention to great corporate leaders. They are decisive, make informed decisions and once you know what drives them are predictable. Always, they are always strategic.
Were my parents to comment on Michael Dell’s fall from corporate grace over the years, they would whisper “Is he on drugs?” He was such a good CEO and now he’s all over the place.” I am not at all suggesting Mr. Dell uses drugs, but he did go from the number one business executive in the country to someone who is unpredictable, a follower, unfocused and seemingly lacking in discipline. He needs to be hypnotized and brought back to those days in his dorm room at U Texas, so that he can find his vision.
Carol Bartz on the other hand has moved into the CEO role at Yahoo!, a company which is more like five companies, and decided to “simplify.” Bravo. Yahoo’s problem is that it has forgotten what it is, focusing instead on earnings, stock prices, business partners, platforms and, and, and… Ms. Bartz approach, after only a few weeks on the job, is less silos, less layers, fewer agendas, more focus, more Yahoo. Today’s smartest marketers are simplifying.
