Summary

For most leaders, the step up to the CEO position is challenging. It evokes a wide array of emotions from excitement to apprehension. As CEO, the time for delivering results is short. At most, CEO’s only have about six months to lay out a winning strategy. After that, perhaps another 18 months to start making a tangible impact. In a long career, this is almost a blink of an eye. Few are lucky enough to get a second chance.

Having advised many new CEOs, we have developed deep insight into what makes a successful CEO. In this Executive Insights, L.E.K.’s John Goddard and Aubry Pierre set out four critical actions to improve a new CEO’s chances of success:

  1. Acknowledge the scale of the challenge
  2. Don’t assume you can start on day one
  3. Maintain a long-term vision
  4. Don’t try to go it alone
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