CEO Lifelines

Introduction
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." --Vincent Van Gogh

CEO Lifelines: Nine Commitments Every Leader Must Make is a book that requires its readers to have an adventuresome spirit and a willingness to engage in meaningful self-evaluation. It’s a book that promises to take its readers on a journey to discover the essential characteristics that underpin strong, decisive leaders and build enduring, high-performance organizations. I believe leaders willing to implement and live the nine lifelines (or practices) outlined here will be fully prepared for the inevitable global shocks that will test both their leadership meddle and the strength of the organizations they lead. Readers should use this book as a road map to avoid potential career and organizational turbulence and as a resource for appropriate antidotes and countermeasures to keep moving forward even in the worst of times.
How This Book is Organized
These nine leadership practices you’ll read about in this book highlight the lifelines that directly impact a leader’s career and the enterprise they lead. I use metaphors to describe the journey I believe these extraordinary leaders must make. One of the principal organizing metaphors, mountaineering, seems particularly suited to describing this journey so you will see its use throughout the book.
Three Key Parts
In addition to the mountaineering metaphors, I have divided the book into three lifeline segments– Personal, Enterprise and Luck. Each segment is based on conclusions derived from my almost four decades of professional experience and a lifetime of learning. During my professional career, I was fortunate to obtain a broad base of indispensable experiences working in a multitude of industries, principally those that that provide products and services to the steel, non-residential construction, rail, energy and defense industries. In addition, my board work exposed me to other industries such as the coatings, specialty chemicals and building products and global engineering services. I also have academia and government services experience from which to draw the conclusions offered in this book.
Part 1 - The Three Practices for Sustained Leadership
Part I of the book covers the three personal lifelines or practices for sustained leadership. These lifelines encourage personal growth and improved individual performance. Leaders willing to enthusiastically embrace these important personal lifelines will be able to endure any economic environment. This section includes a lifelines inventory and assessment of these practices so that readers can accurately identify areas of improvement.
Part II – The Six Practices of a Healthy Enterprise
Part II of the book covers the six enterprise lifelines or practices of a healthy enterprise. Leaders that vigorously implement these enterprise lifelines should see sustained improvement in their organization’s operating results, while simultaneously building an enduring company with the potential to last for generations no matter the economic circumstances. All six practices are interdependent and equally important. These lifelines are also necessary countermeasures to any potentially unforeseen disasters (chance events) such as a worldwide economic downturn brought on by national or geopolitical events. These essential lifelines serve as an antidote to the impact of these potential misfortunes. This section includes an enterprise lifelines inventory and assessment of these practices that will help your organization assess its readiness for these events.
Part III - The Serendipity of Chance, Good and Bad
Part III of the book covers the often-ignored element of luck or the serendipity of chance, good and bad. Luck is the wildcard of a CEO's success. That’s why I have coined the term “luck spread” to describe this element of success. Both individual leaders and companies need to understand the power of luck and how the luck spread can dramatically alter an assumed path to the summit of success. It’s also important to acknowledge that the “luck spread’s” nature is that good luck is sometimes mistaken for skill, strong leadership and exceptional performance. While bad luck is often mistaken for inadequate skills, bad management and poor performance. Which side of the “luck spread” a leader ultimately experiences is largely out of their control, but I believe the best countermeasure to a negative luck spread is achieved by implementing the nine essential lifelines outlined in this book.