Getting to know the top CEO’s through their Leadership Quotes

This is an abstract of Leadership Quotes from Worth Magazine’s May issue which lists the Top 50 CEOs. Some of the most notable facts are mentioned here and the article in general gives an interesting perspective on how CEOs think.

There were simple queries that probed into their luncheon habits to their beliefs on the existence of intelligent life beyond the earth. Some of these Leadership Quotes are thought provoking and some are smart expressions laced with humor.

The CEOs featured here are from Applied Materials, Best Buy , Broadcom, Continental, Ebay, El Paso, EMC, Enron, Honeywell, Intel, JDS Uniphase, Merck, New York Times, Novell, Staples, Texas Instruments, Tyco, United Technologies, VA Linux, Wells Fargo, Wellpoint and Yahoo.

These Leadership quotes are a rarity. When asked about lunch, Nicholas from Broadcom reacted by wanting to eat competition. Interestingly, when Engibous from Texas Instruments was asked about the number of hours spent on the net it was a meager 60 minutes a week. At the other end of the spectrum James Bond was the popular choice among the CEOs when asked about fictional characters. Surprisingly, these leadership quotes are spruced up with brands. Along with the Hummer and Lamborghini Diablo there was room for Davidoff cigars, electric screwdrivers along with brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Rado and Zeiter.

Added to these, each CEO has their own distinct idiosyncrasies with their own distinct dislikes about themselves. When asked about a vacation in the last 12 months, one CEO managed to holiday for a month. Given an extra hour one CEO claimed spending time talking to employees. When asked about the Dow both optimistic and pessimistic views were noticed. When asked about intelligent life beyond Earth a majority of propounded its existence. Added to this there were two extremes when it came to casual clothing. One CEO asserts casual clothing is not process efficient while some of them live in their jeans.

 

From Dan Peña – "The Money Messiah" and Mentor/Coach for The New Millennium

Dear Friend and Subscriber:

I don’t normally quote directly from an article verbatim. And I certainly won’t quote as much as I do in this letter.

WORTH Magazine’s May issue lists the Top 50 CEO’s. I’ve quoted some of the more notable facts (in my opinion) listed. The facts listed and the article in general gives you an interesting perspective on how the best US CEO’s (according to WORTH) think.

For those of you familiar with QLA Methodology, much of what you read "according to WORTH" is QLA.

TOP 50

Clear Choice: Cisco’s John Chambers has already created more wealth than Buffett or Welch. This year, he’ll likely surpass Gates.

"WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH?"

Schmidt (Novell): French Fries. Lewis (New York Times): Tuna. Morgan (Applied Materials): Sandwich at my desk. Barrett (Intel): A Walk. Kozlowski (Tyco): Rare tune on greens. Stemberg (Staples): Pasta. Koogle (Yahoo): Stuffed taco at Taco Bell. Nicholas (Broadcom): The competition.

"WHAT’S YOUR MOST MARKED CHARACTERISTIC?"

Stemberg (Staples): Sense of humor. Barrett (Intel): Competitive nature. Ruettgers (EMC): Militaristic style. Lay (Enron): Positive attitude. Nicholas (Broadcom): Sheer determination. Koogle (Yahoo): Intuition. David (United Technologies): Intellect. Gilmartin (Merck): Candid, forthright approach.

"HOW MANY HOURS A WEEK ARE YOU ON THE NET?"

Engibous (Texas Instruments): Less than 1. David (United Technologies): 2. Lewis (New York Times): 5 to 7. Wise (El Paso): 5 to 8. Schulze (Best Buy): 8 to 10. Nicholas (Broadcom): 10 to 15. Schmidt (Novell): 10 to 15. Stemberg (Staples): 15. Augustin (VA Linux): 20. Koogle (Yahoo): 30.

"WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER?"

Stemberg (Staples): Tom Sawyer. Schmidt (Novell): Hamlet. Nicholas (Broadcom): Lazarus Long. Bonsignore (Honeywell): Jason of "Jason and the Argonauts". Bethune (Continental): James Bond. Lay (Enron): James Bond. Kozlowski (Tyco): "Dave Barry" [Laughs]. Koogle (Yahoo): Lovejoy. Schulze (Best Buy): James Bond.

"WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE?"

Stemberg (Staples): Davidoff cigars. Augustin (VA Linux): A California vanity plate that says VA Linux. Barrett (Intel): A Hummer. Nicholas (Broadcom): A Lamborghini Diablo. Morgan (Applied Materials): Helicopter skiing. Bonsignore (Honeywell): Porsche Boxter. Schmidt (Novell): An electric screwdriver.

"WHAT KIND OF WATCH ARE YOU WEARING?"

David (United Technologies): A Rolex. Barrett (Intel): A ten-year’s service watch from Intel. Bonsignore (Honeywell): A Patek Philippe. Purcell (Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter): A watch commemorating the merger. Lewis (New York Times): A Rolex Submariner. Schulze (Best Buy): A Rado. Koogle (Yahoo): A Zeitner.

"WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF?"

Kalkhoven (JDS Uniphase): Lack of patience. Whitman (Ebay): Try to do too much at once. Schaeffer (Wellpoint): Never satisfied. Kozlowski (Tyco): Too compulsive. David (United Technologies): Can’t relax. Lewis (New York Times): Wish I were smarter. Schmidt (Novell): Getting older.

"HOW MANY VACATION DAYS IN PAST 12 MONTHS?"

Enginbous (Texas Instruments): "No clue". Lay (Enron): 21. Lewis (New York Times): 15. Koogle (Yahoo): 3. Nicholas (Broadcom): 1.5. Bethune (Continental): 1 or 2. Schulze (Best Buy): 30. David (United Technologies): 25. Kovacevich (Wells Fargo): Fewer than 7. Stemberg (Staples): 20. Augustin (VA Linux): none.

"HOW WOULD YOU USE AN EXTRA HOUR?"

Morgan (Applied Materials): I’d use it for advance planning. Koogle (Yahoo): To catch up with my correspondence. Bethune (Continental): To talk to employees. Blank (Home Depot): For reading. Augustin (VA Linux): To talk to customers. Stemberg (Staples): For thinking.

"WHERE WILL THE DOW END THE YEAR?"

Bethune (Continental): I am praying it will be up. David (United Technologies): 12,000. Koogle (Yahoo): 14,000. Lewis (New York Times): 11,000. Kalkhoven (JDS Uniphase): Up modestly. Schulze (Best Buy): Up less than 1,000 points. Kovacevich (Wells Fargo): Below 10,000. That’s what Greenspan wants.

"IS THERE INTELLIGENT LIFE BEYOND EARTH?"

Schulze (Best Buy): No. Barrett (Intel): The odds favor it. David (United Technologies): Yes. Stemberg (Staples): Yes. Blank (Home Depot): Yes. Kozlowski (Tyco): Yes. Koogle (Yahoo): Yes. Augustin (VA Linux): Yes. Morgan (Applied Materials): Yes. Bonsignore (Honeywell): Yes. Bethune (Continental): Yes, do the math.

"CASUAL CLOTHES: A GOOD THING IN THE OFFICE?"

David (United Technologies): It’s not process efficient. Ruettgers (EMC): I own 87 ties. Koogle (Yahoo): Are you kidding? Bonsignore (Honeywell): We still need the jeans police. Whitman (Ebay): I wear jeans twice a week. Truchard (National Instruments): I’ve got jeans on right now.

It doesn’t matter what you call it, the important thing is to model high-performance habits. It will allow you a clear path to greater success.

To Your Quantum Leap

Dan Peña

 

P.S. Thanks to everyone that has responded so well to the Internet Newsletter. I will answer questions in future newsletters.