Boring CEOs are the Best CEOs?

Oversimplified, to be sure, but the idea, which I (and probably others) first read about in Collins that great (i.e.“level 5”) business leaders tend to be humble, boring, obsessive types keeps showing up in other studies as well. You want “interesting,” go to the arts (New York, L.A.). You want “charismatic,” go to politics (D.C.). You want “effective,” go to business (Bentonville). And trying to mix these worlds (which Brooks claims that the art and political worlds are trying to do to the business community in these recessionary times) will be bad for business.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/opinion/19brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

“All this work is a reminder that, while it’s important to be a sensitive, well-rounded person for the sake of your inner fulfillment, the market doesn’t really care. The market wants you to fill an organizational role.

The second thing the market seems to want from leaders is a relentless and somewhat mind-numbing commitment to incremental efficiency gains.

For this reason, people in the literary, academic and media worlds rarely understand business. It is nearly impossible to think of a novel that accurately portrays business success. That’s because the virtues that writers tend to admire — those involving self-expression and self-exploration — are not the ones that lead to corporate excellence.

For the same reason, business and politics do not blend well.“