chapter
4
Gods and villains
The heroes of our time
C
ontinuing where the previous chapter left off, this chapter
is specically dedicated to the eye-catching phenomenon
of CEOs. CEOs, to many people, are the heroes of our
time. They are the topics of news stories, business-school cases,
and biographies. They become celebrities, heroes, and superstars,
prone to deication, sometimes attaining almost God-like status
(such as GE’s Jack Welch). We place them on the cover of maga-
zines such as Fortune and Business Week, we give them awards,
honorary doctorates, and multi-million salary packages, while
they command dazzling fees for after-dinner speeches, at which
they are drenched in the adoration of star-struck hopefuls, who
quench their thirst for personal business success on the (expen-
sive) words of the great leader.
Yet, just as easily, it seems, they can fall from grace and personify
the failure of an entire conglomerate (such as Enron’s Jeff
Skilling).
This chapter discusses these processes, providing examples and
evidence from research. It argues that “it is the type of people
that become CEOs” but also shows evidence that it is the world
which makes them that way. I will explain to you why the most
successful CEOs, by denition, are incompetent, take you to an
awards dinner in New York City, and present to you a little piece
of statistical analysis that shows when CEOs are most likely to
pass the baton. Finally, to discuss a vital, yet often overlooked
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