"What does it take to lead with a higher ambition? What are the core characteristics and capabilities of the leader who is able to build and sustain institutions that create both economic and social value? How does he or she approach the task of leadership?
Consider Douglas R. Conant, CEO of Campbell Soup Company.
Russ Eisenstat and a colleague, Chris Richmond, met with Conant at his office in Camden, New Jersey, to discuss how, under his leadership, Campbell had returned from a near-death experience to its current position as one of the world’s most successful food companies. For Conant, a highly regarded executive with nearly thirty-five years in the food industry, the Campbell story is about strategy and performance, leadership and organization, but he never forgets that it is just as fundamentally about food and nutrition. So it was perhaps not surprising that we started with a brief discussion of his diet.
Conant stands 6’1” and carries himself like the relative of a president of Harvard, which he is. He had sprained an ankle not long before our meeting, which meant he had not been able to follow his normal workout routine and had put on a few pounds that he wanted to shed. So his lunch consisted of a Campbell’s microwavable Soup at Hand cup followed by a banana. Somebody had suggested to Conant that he call it the soup-and fruit diet. He replied, “I said, no, my diet is Soup at Hand and a banana. That’s more memorable. And, as my wife says, it’s something so easy even a CEO can do it. I can use the microwave and I know how to peel a banana.”
A well-developed sense of humor and a willingness to poke fun at himself in this way characterized our interview with Conant. Many of the other CEOs we talked with were equally self-deprecating. Leif Johansson, CEO of Volvo, told us, for example, that being CEO “may affect you with a personality disorder by making you think you know everything. But you don’t actually.” Johansson is especially wary of this troubling syndrome because Volvo is “an institution in Swedish society,” and as a result, “when you have become the big boss, they all think: ‘If he’ll just say something, it’s so very relevant.’ But it’s by no means certain that it is.”
Johansson and Conant and the other leaders we profile in this book are refreshingly aware of the “big boss” problem, and while they understand their responsibilities and the significant influence they have on people’s lives and livelihoods, they are fundamentally healthy people.
As we’ll discuss in this chapter, these leaders:
• See the glass whole.
• Envision the potential.
• Set worthy goals.
• Don’t compromise on the things that matter."
