Xinfu blog

The recession has found a lot of CEOs out.

The media has been crammed with reports of corporate set backs or even collapse. Worse, no one seems to know where the global economy is heading. CEOs seem both to be scapegoats and potential heros.

Peter Day and the BBC’s flagship “In Business” programme wanted understand the truth about CEOs today. How good are they really? What do they really do? Are they worth their often huge salaries? Where do the good CEOs need to improve?

As Peter puts it, “[CEOs are the public faces of their company…but are they up to it?”

Peter turned to Steve.  Click here to listen to their exploration of CEOs today which features a number of CEOs featured in Steve’s latest book “The New Secrets of CEOs”.  Steve took Peter through our finding that two thirds of CEOs are not up to the job, that most CEOs are struggling without the support and development they need and that it is time for CEOs to step up and lead afresh in the current crisis.  A good place to start is with a compelling cause for the business that goes beyond a narrow financial focus and really lifts everyone in the business to outperform.

The programme was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 19^th August and Sunday 22^nd August.   For Peter day’s blog on the programme, and to listen to it, click here.

Notes to editors

“The New Secrets of CEOs”
“The New Secrets of CEOs” is a completely updated edition of the bestselling “The Secrets of CEOs”.  Drawing on 200 interviews with top global CEOs from both East and West, Steve and his co-author, Andy Cave of the Telegraph, really dig into how the best CEOs are leading to win in the reset world. More on the book here.

Xinfu

We are the world’s first global CEO confidants.

We are working with top CEOs from around the world to build a new generation of businesses that win in the right way. Our ambition is to work with a small number of ambitious global clients to generate extraordinary returns for their owners and create exceptional environments where talented people can fulfil themselves.

Steve, Hugh and Michelle joined John Connolly, Global Chairman of Xinfu client Deloitte, and CEOs and senior leaders including Peter Voser of Shell, Andy Green of Logica, Savio Kwan of Alibaba, Ravi Kant of Tata Motors and Vittorio Calao of Vodafone to debate “New Frontiers: Expansion, Opportunity and Innovation” at LBS’ flagship event, the Global Leadership Summit.

The event ranged widely and included some memorable exchanges – in particular, the very lively and stimulating panel discussion between Savio Kwan, Ravi Kant and Mo Ibrahim, Chairman and Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and Founder, Celtel.

A selection of the key CEO questions the team felt remain unanswered include

-          How do you build a business that consistently innovates new products and services on a global scale?

-          What type of leaders do you need in your particular business to drive out performance in the near term and long term business leadership?

-          How do you use rising talent to spot commercial opportunity?

We will be examining these questions in detail in the forthcoming “The Secrets of Chinese CEOs”.

Read more about the event here.

Steve and Michelle attended the annual Fortune Global Forum during the midst of World Cup season in Cape Town, South Africa. The event was held from June 26-28^th and drew in dozens of global heavy hitters from Fortune 500 companies, honorees from the TIME 100 most influential people list, and top government leaders.

The event kicked off with a welcome speech by South African president Jacob Zuma who urged the audience to take a good look at Africa as “the right time, and right place” for business development. Keynote speaker former US President Bill Clinton  re-emphasized Zuma’s view and strongly advised business leaders that “there is huge opportunity in Africa for Africa, to succeed in this you must be here to create wealth for Africa”.

With the developing world now collectively growing more than the developed world, Steve and Michelle saw an urgent need for Global CEOs to go beyond the transactional mindset of their own businesses and to invest in a balanced long-term relationship with communities across borders. China Mobile’s Chairman Wang Jianzhou also agrees, “In Chinese policy, there is no difference between doing business with the West or Africa, in order to bridge the gap in commerce between Africa and China, there needs to be an increase in communication thus understanding of each other so that more and more exchanges can exist between China and Africa.”

In response, African leaders also pointed out to investors: “There are many things the West who came in and developed our countries did, a key point is for China and all future investing companies to learn from this and start where the west ended, not back to where they started and avoid repeating the mistakes of the West,” summarized Mo Ibrahim, founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

As the event comes to a close, key issues surrounding investment in developing countries still lingers, and the next steps for action are not yet solidified. However, with many business leaders making their first step to being in Africa, Steve and Michelle are beginning to see a big shift towards it being right time, right place for Africa.

For more coverage of the event, please click here for TIME special report of the event.

Denmark’s flagship DR Radio P1 wanted to know where to get the best training to become a CEO or business leader so they gave Steve a call.  Click here to hear the interview (in Danish).  Article also features Xinfu business leadership practitioner Louise Orbesen and the Danish Minister of Science.

Catch up with Steve and Michelle at the Fortune/Time/CNN Global Forum from 26-28th June. The global CEO event is being hosted by President Zuma.

With the spot light on Africa, Steve and Michelle will join senior CEOs from around the world to work through topics including applying lessons from China to Africa, Clean tech for the developing world and Woman as a Catalyst for Growth and Change.

We’ll be tweeting on developments throughout the conference and blogging on our thoughts and conclusions coming out of it.

For further coverage on all major media channels, with special coverage by CNN and Time, click here for Fortune Global Forum website and further details.

In the week Tony Hayward was summoned to the White House and the US Senate to answer questions on the Mexican Gulf spill, Lesley Curwen asked Steve what responsibility Tony should take for the crisis and what it’s really like to be a CEO – in calm waters and during a storm.  Listen to the whole interview here.

Julie Mollins asked Steve to kick off today’s ‘great debate’- watch his take on the mexican gulf, the need for businesses to create a fellowship to move forward and for CEOs to recognise there is a fundemental re-set going on.

Watch the clip here.

Struck by the press praise for Sir Terry Leahy and the opprobrium being heaped on Tidjane Thiam and Tony Hayward, David Prosser takes a look at, as he puts it, how the press and public turn CEOs into heroes or villains.

Drawing on Steve’s latest book, “The New Secrets of CEOs”, David turned to Steve for a perspective on this “cult of the CEO”.  As Steve said, “The misconception of the cult of the chief executive particularly applies in this country; only in America are they more self-centred.”

In fact, what we should really be doing is leading these major businesses in a different way. As Steve told the Independent, “In India, a very different type of chief executive is emerging.  Companies such as Infosys are driven by small groups of entrepreneurial founders, much more in the style of a fellowship.”

You can read all Steve’s comments and the whole article here.

Notes

“The New Secrets of CEOs” is a completely updated edition of the bestselling “The Secrets of CEOs”.  Drawing on 200 interviews with top global CEOs from both East and West, Steve and his co-author, Andy Cave of the Telegraph, really dig into how the best CEOs are leading to win in the reset world. More on the book here.

In the final instalment of the Telegraph’s three part serialisation of Steve’s latest book, Chief Executives talk to Steve and his co-author about what they are doing in response to the financial crisis.

As Steve and Andy probed into how over 200 Global CEOs do their job, it became increasing clear that many companies have not adequately adapted to the global economic, social and regulatory reset.  However, there is a small minority of businesses who have found ways to deliver profitable growth, run more agile global organisations, harness multigenerational talent and exploit new technology. Read the full article here.

Notes

“The New Secrets of CEOs” is a completely updated edition of the bestselling “The Secrets of CEOs”.  Drawing on 200 interviews with top global CEOs from both East and West, Steve and his co-author, Andy Cave of the Telegraph, really dig into how the best CEOs are leading to win in the reset world. More on the book here.

Steve appeared on this morning’s edition of the ultimate ‘pre-market’ morning news and talk programme, Squawk box, to discuss whether, in the wake of the Gulf oil spill, BP CEO, Tony Haywood, will get to keep his job – find out what Steve had to say on the subject here.

Notes

“The New Secrets of CEOs” is a completely updated edition of the bestselling “The Secrets of CEOs”.  Drawing on 200 interviews with top global CEOs from both East and West, Steve and his co-author, Andy Cave of the Telegraph, really dig into how the best CEOs are leading to win in the reset world. More on the book here.