Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Those who follow my blog have an idea how I’m spending my time as a retired CEO. I’m working – not for money, for fun. Beyond my recreational life (weapons of choice being a tennis racquet or a golf club - on a good day I use both), I’m writing about business leadership, branding and life. I’ve also written a historical novel, although I’m still trying to find a publisher who isn’t afraid to invest in a newbie, grey-haired writer in a market going through drastic change. Bottom line, I love a challenge and I’m every bit as goal-oriented as I was thirty years ago. Fortunately I don’t take myself as seriously as I did in my business days; I no longer fret about my insecurities or fear the political animals lurking in the hallowed hallways of the Zurich head office.
Looming retirement can be awfully daunting to a CEO, especially to those who define themselves by their jobs. Think about the personal and behavioral characteristics of the typical CEO. He (yes, "he" - 97% of Fortune 1000 companies are led by men) is:
1. Performance-Driven
2. Energetic and tenacious
3. Passionate and disciplined
4. Visionary
5. Resourceful
In addition, he enjoys his leadership role and the power that goes with it. Imagine how difficult it is for him to keep his ego in check. These 5 characteristics plus ego and power are the very traits that motivate ex-CEOs in their afterlife. Many find satisfaction using their influence to help others. They get behind philanthropic causes with all the zeal and determination they exerted while rising to the top of the corporate ladder. Former CEO of sports apparel maker Russell Corporation, Jack Ward puts his time and money into helping inner-city kids. Warren Staley (Cargill) supports Habitat for Humanity with a hammer, a saw and a wallet. GE's Jack Welch divides his time consulting with companies, travelling, golfing, lecturing at MIT's Sloan School of Management and donating time and money to business education.
But, not every CEO follows this trodden path. Some find happiness pursuing interests that evaded them during the demanding years in the C-suite. At one time I worked for a hard-driving chap who was prematurely pushed out of the corporate cockpit. He was 62, a golden parachute strapped to his back, but no hobbies or interests beyond business. Worried for his mental well-being, his wife bought him lessons in painting. Painting wasn't the answer. But the notion of artistic discovery inspired this lost soul. He embarked on creating life-size, caricature stone sculptures of people he knew. He became an excellent sculptor and a much happier man than he ever was in the executive suite. You could see it in his eyes whenever he spoke of his work and his desire to improve. His glowed.
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Jul '11
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
I have dealt with numerous transitions of heavy hitters to the world of retirement. They take their millions or hundreds of millions and move on to this next phase. Some drink too much or other unhealthy pursuits and here's little me telling Mr so and so who was bowed to at every turn that he is a fool if he doesn't change his ways and really carpe some diem. Most execs though have dreams and pursue them with zeal, finding meaning and pleasure. Race car driving, world travel, philanthropy, board chairmen, etc. Just keep your mind and body active.
Apr '12
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Great to learn about you on Ricochet. Your blog is full of insights about how to move a group of people to innovate - tough to achieve. We had a post a while back asking about insecurity, which you touched on in your post above. Do you think insecurity is a top motivator? If you are a mid manager in a company that does not have a strong drive to innovate but needs to do so, what specific actions would you take over six months? It would be interesting to hear what you think about America being the best place to do business. Do you think that is still the case? You were exposed to Zurich and the European style of business. How did this differ from American business culturesir are there now business cultures and the American culture is not such a differentiator? Last question (Peter Robinson taught me the importance of drawing to a clearly defined end) Would you participate in a Ricochet podcast? A business view would be of great interest to me.
Oct '10
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
I can speak only from my own experience (founder and CEO of Autodesk, Inc. [ADSK:NADSAQ] 1982–1986, chairman 1982–1988). The worst part of my life came to an end and the best part began when I relinquished the CEO rôle and got back to doing things I genuinely enjoyed. I completely concur that there is nothing more rewarding than working with a small group of dedicated and talented people, creating something that never existed before, bringing it to market, and co-evolving it with the wisdom of a growing community of customers.
For me, all of this fun came to an end with our Initial Public stock Offering in 1985. I knew in advance that it would, but believed that we'd need the proceeds to meet near-term competitive challenges (in retrospect, we did not). After that the CEO job was described my by successor as “standing there with a bat, trying to hit each piece of incoming (excrement) before it hits the fan.” And this was at a time of rapid growth and profitability.
Afterward is the good part: supporting start-ups and worthy causes, enjoying life, and doing cool stuff.
Jun '10
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
I was not a CEO, but became an officer of a large company (more than 50,000 employees). Then came the disastrous merger. My company was bought by a company whose stock had been pumped up by less-than-honest revenue reporting (and whose CEO is currently the guest of a federal prison). The merger nearly destroyed the company. Less than a year later, they were paying people to leave and so I left (along with several compatriots). I had a legal career to fall back on so things have worked out well for me.
But I did learn two lessons:
1. Years earlier, my late older brother had told me: "Corporations have no souls--they are as good, or as bad, as current management." This is all too true. Don't take this wrong. Corporations are a wonderful means of organizing effective, profitable business enterprises, and some companies develop great cultures (e.g., GE under Jack Welch). But they can change very quickly, so don't give them your whole heart (give it to God and family).
2. Develop other interests. If not, a day will come when you'll stand there asking, "Is this all there is?"
Edited on May 20, 2012 at 8:33pmJul '11
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
TR, you see it with women who have no identity save their kids as well as pilots, cops, pro athletes, and every driven individual. As you state, you are in trouble if you do not cultivate other interests when the music is over for the only dance you know.
Apr '12
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
As a fellow with marketing and branding experience and a little money in the bank, you might consider self-publishing or creating your own press. With Amazon and other outlets, it has become much easier. Just use what resources you need to ensure your product (book) is in good shape. There are definite advantages to some of the old name publishing houses, but definite drawbacks, too. Most of their advantages are in marketing and distribution channels. For a marketing man, that may not matter as much.
Oct '10
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Excuse me for weighing in here again, but there's another aspect of the CEO afterlife which has always puzzled me: “serial entrepreneurship”—people who have a great success in a venture, move on, and then start one company after another.
In the 1980s when we were meeting with venture capitalists (with whom, thank goodness, we never made a deal), their universal knock against us was “there's nobody on your team who's done it before”, to which my response was, “Well, if I'd done it before, why I would be here listening to this insulting nonsense from you?” No, I didn't actually say that, but I thought it. In any case, the result was the same—we didn't sell out.
Now here's my theory for the serial entrepreneurs. I think that a lot of people who are successful in business are insecure because they fear it was due to luck, so they want to repeat to prove it wasn't, but rather their keen strategy. Me, I've always acknowledged how much was due to luck and had no inclination to roll the dice again.
Oct '10
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Listen closely enough and there is usually a new tune and or dance that provides new insights and purpose. Dare to be flexible and open minded.
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Welcome aboard, John. And good luck finding a publisher for your novel.
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Re: #2 Indaba Questions
Q: Is insecurity a top motivator? A: Only if you are in a survival mode.
Q: What do mid-managers do in companies that don’t have the drive to innovate? A: If the mid-manager really wants to innovate, I suggest they spend their energies finding a company that values innovation. An innovative culture comes from leaders.
Q: Is America still the best place to do business? A: Sure, America has slipped back. But in my view it is still the best place to do business. The fundamentals are still in place as so many “new economy” companies have discovered.
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
This is really fascinating. I didn't know we had such business luminaries here at Ricochet. Question: what advice would you give the new crop of young, now hugely rich, entrepreneurs from companies like Instagram and Facebook?
Jun '10
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
I have very little wisdom, but I did learn one thing: never ever assume that your product is the be-all, end-all: just ask the buggy-whip makers, slide-rule manufacturers, the makers of the Palm Pilot, and now Blackberry.
Creative destruction is real and no one, in the long-run, is immune.
Edited on May 21, 2012 at 4:17amApr '12
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
In other words: diversify that stock portfolio as soon as possible.
Aug '10
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
business is people, keep the people around and the business will happenthere are natural leaders, natural followers , and obvious solutions to providing services to the rest of the world.natural lending has been perverted by unnatural government intervention that is one big change that needs to be overcomeretirement should be treated the same waywithout the structure, aspirational divination gets harder, the rewards get smaller , but your world is shrunken by the limitations of another generation or two chasing you into retirement. either run faster , hide or fake it.failing that - retire and hide behind your family running things by proxy
Edited on May 21, 2012 at 5:40amMar '11
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Retirement? For those of us without a golden parachute or a public-sector pension it's an alien concept.
My retirement plan is to delay it as much as possible...
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
John Walker #7. My experience with entrepreneurs is that they do not consider their success as luck. They are incredibly positive and confident in their own abilities. They have a dream and they won't rest until they reach the destination. Vision may be one of the strongest intangibles in business.
Nov '11
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Everyone has insecurities but the world is full of nay-sayers and negativity and entrepreneurs fight this every step of the way. I have been thinking about this very thing and the perfect congress person or president is an entrepreneur- not necessarily a big corporate CEO who may be a hired hand. Visionary, goal oriented (gets things done/undone), hires the right people (politicians, economists, lawyers, accountants, managers), then leaves when things are accomplished- ready to move on to something new. As a conservative they must have underlying good character and a world-view they can state, but not force on others. Most of the good ones wouldn't (and don't) touch politics with a ten foot pole. I will add that S.Palin fit the bill.
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Re: #11 Rob Long's question - What advice would I give the new crop of young, now hugely rich, entrepreneurs from companies like Instagram and Facebook?
Answer: Do not play the game of life in which the one who finishes with most at death, wins. Seek balance and you will find fulfillment. There is more to this life than chasing money. What you do with it is what rmatters. It was Victor Hugo who said, "As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled."
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
tabula rasa: I did learn two lessons:
1. Years earlier, my late older brother had told me: "Corporations have no souls--they are as good, or as bad, as current management." This is all too true. Don't take this wrong. Corporations are a wonderful means of organizing effective, profitable business enterprises, and some companies develop great cultures (e.g., GE under Jack Welch). But they can change very quickly, so don't give them your whole heart (give it to God and family).
2. Develop other interests. If not, a day will come when you'll stand there asking, "Is this all there is?" · 22 hours ago
Edited 22 hours ago
Two great lessons. Lesson one should be helpful to anyone considering joining another company. Check out the management. Be aware that brand reputations can overshadow the real culture. Lesson two is a classic insight. It's not the results of the business game but how you played that game.
Sep '10
Re: Is There a CEO Afterlife?
Welcome John. If I could recommend only one book to the type of driven individuals DocJay has encountered who don't have any outside interests it would be Josef Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture. Your sculptor friend is a perfect example of the difference between the liberal and servile arts. Some things don't exist for a purpose or end, and shouldn't.