The Hero's Farewell: What Happens When CEOs RetireOxford University Press, 1991 - 324 pages How a business replaces its chief executive often determines that firm's future. If a business does not effectively manage the transfer of power, utter turmoil can result, with profound implications not only for the CEO, but also for the other employees, the shareholders, and the community at large. Filled with inside stories from corporate boardrooms and fresh conceptual perspectives, The Hero's Farewell describes in rich detail the factors that affect executive succession. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld offers the first close examination of the critical role a CEO's departure style plays in helping, or hindering, the transfer of power. Through candid interviews with fifty prominent retired chief executives from corporations such as AT&T, Ford, Dupont, United Technologies, and Raytheon (David Rockefeller of Chase Manhattan and Thomas J. Watson, Jr. of IBM among them) and a survey of an additional three hundred top managers, Sonnenfeld identifies the four major types of leadership departure styles. These types include Monarchs, who choose not to leave voluntarily but either die in office or are overthrown; Generals, who leave reluctantly and spend their retirement planning a comeback; Ambassadors, who retain close ties with their former firms; and Governors, who willingly serve a limited time and leave to pursue new interests. Capturing the human drama of these departures and succession battles, The Hero's Farewell will fascinate anyone intrigued by power struggles in large corporations. Outlining ways to smooth out the inevitable transfers of power that corporations must face, Sonnenfeld presents essential information for all top executives and especially for CEOs. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 10 | |
Executive Retirement and the Parade of Future Leaders | 30 |
Living Legends or Business Cheerleaders? | 39 |
The Heros Reluctant Farewell | 58 |
The Monarchs Departure | 80 |
The Generals Departure | 129 |
The Ambassadors Departure | 151 |
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Common terms and phrases
accomplishment activities ambassadors American bank became business heroes business leaders Business School Carlswell chairman challenge company's continued corporate culture death deButts decade departure style directors Edwin Land employees entrepreneur example father feel felt firm firm's Flowtrol Ford Motor Company founder Geneen governors Gray growth Guy de Rothschild Harvard Business School Henderson Henry Ford Henry Ford II heroic mission heroic self-concept heroic stature identity industry internal involved Irving Shapiro J. P. Morgan Juan Trippe late-career later leadership leave office ment million monarchs older workers operations opportunity organization Otto Rank Paley percent position profits Raytheon reign responsibility retired chief executives Robert Rockefeller role self-concept served social strategy succession successor tion Tom Watson top executives transition Trippe vice president vision Walton wanted Watson York younger
Popular passages
Page 10 - Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.