Publishings

Lessons From Obama’s Cabinet Picks

by Susan Battley

Full Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-battley/obama-cabinet_b_2567298.html

The beginning of President Obama’s second term seems an appropriate time to look at what makes a winning top team. Four years ago, he conceived of his Cabinet as a “team of rivals,” taking his inspiration from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s best-selling biography of Abraham Lincoln. Just as Lincoln appointed former rivals for the presidency to his Cabinet in 1860, Obama appointed former Democratic presidential competitor Hillary Clinton as his first Secretary of State. In 2008 he told Time magazine, “I don’t want to have people who just agree with me. I want people who are continually pushing me out of my comfort zone.”

By contrast, Obama’s second-term appointments thus far appear to place an emphasis on personal familiarity and extensive interaction, as suggested by his replacement choices to head the State, Treasury and Defense Departments. All three appointees — John Kerry, Jack Lew and Chuck Hagel, respectively — are trusted allies.

by Susan Battley

The 113th Congress was sworn in this week, adding 12 new senators and 67 new representatives. A fresh start is desperately needed.

A year from now will anything be different in Washington? Or will the same political gridlock caused by dysfunctional behaviors prevail?

It all depends on whether our political leaders can kick their bad habits and replace them with behaviors that promote bipartisanship and public confidence and trust.

Full Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-battley/memo-to-congress-kick-the_b_2398314.html

With the clock ticking, it is anyone’s guess whether Democrats and Republicans come up with a bipartisan resolution to the looming fiscal crisis, or instead take the country over the cliff into catastrophic free fall.

In a recent New York Times article, Mr. Bipartisan himself, Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, who is retiring from the Senate in January 2013, faulted both parties for the current “cancer” of congressional paralysis and finger-pointing.

Full Article: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100341940

by Susan Battley

Here are four business all-stars of 2012, leaders who stand out for executing brilliantly or distinguishing themselves in the larger forum of social and civic responsibility. Below them I list four stars who lost luster, leaders who were noteworthy because their stellar performance or reputations took a hit. And finally I suggest some aspiring stars to keep an eye on in 2013.

Full Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/12/13/the-2012-ceo-all-stars-and-dimmed-stars/ 

It’s a busy time for two of our newest business leaders. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer recently held her first earnings call. Citigroup’s Michael Corbat has completed his first month on the job. Both CEOs face substantial challenges in transforming their companies and setting them on a profitable path. Both come to their jobs without prior experience as a chief executive. Both replace CEOs who departed precipitously. But here the similarities end.

Does the route to a company’s top spot — outside hire versus homegrown talent — make any difference to a CEO’s effectiveness and ultimate success? Does one route have advantages over the other? Analyses of CEO succession and company performance suggest these are not trivial questions. Let’s take a closer look.

Full Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-battley/outsider-or-insider-ceo-w_b_2193928.html