'A CEO for All Seasons': Business leadership lessons from the world's top CEOs

Every week The Money Show interviews the author or reviewer of a new or trending business book.

This week Motheo Khoaripe (in for Stephen Grootes) talked to regular reviewer Ian Mann, MD of Gateways Business Consultants.

Mann reviewed A CEO for All Seasons: Mastering the Cycles of Leadership.

It's the follow-up to the New York Times bestseller CEO Excellence from global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the minds behind it - Scott Keller, Carolyn Dewar, Kurt Strovink and Vikram Malhotra

A CEO for All Seasons is described as a compact, insight-filled guide to navigating the distinct phases of leadership that every CEO must pass through on their way to mastery.

"From preparing for the role (stepping up) to leading with impact (starting strong) to sustaining momentum (staying ahead) to fortifying a lasting legacy (sending it forward), the book leaves no segment of the journey unmapped."

Crucially, it also alerts readers to common blind spots, as revealed by a detailed survey of thousands of executives.

While there are a plethora of good books on leadership available, this series is exceptional, says Mann.

"With the first book, they did a study of the top quartile of CEOs of the best companies in the world, companies that are exceptional in every respect. They found that these created 30 x the economic value of the next three quarters."

"The value these top 200 CEOs created was $5 trillion - that's the GDP of a country like Germany. They measured them by total return to shareholders, and the companies also kept outperforming their competitors AFTER these CEOs had left."

"A CEO for All Seasons is based on the interviews with 83 of those people. So, it's like with learning to play guitar if you're not just learning from a good teacher but from Jimi Hendrix!"

"The beauty of this book is that it gives you insights not based on somebody's opinion but based on research; what you should be coming in with each one of these different seasons in order to be really good."

"We have this idea that if you're a good CEO you close the door, make it happen and don't worry about anybody in a cutthroat.world. But it's the opposite; the book gives examples of leaders who've done unbelievable work - and what they emphasize is the need for humility."

"They talk about sustainable mindset - and that's for anybody going into a leadership position. An unsustainable mindset is 'I want to become a leader, then I'll have power and then I'll have money'. Those people never become great leaders."

"The mindset should be, 'I have a vision and it's how me and this company can do great things'. That's a visioni for the company and not for the individual."

"As Raymond Ackerman from Pick n Pay taught me early on, exploiting the living daylights out of your staff is to see that they enjoy coming to work every day."

Ian Mann, MD - Gateways Business Consultants

Description on Amazon:

In the high-stakes world of corporate leadership, becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is an Everest-like ascent - with only the savviest managing to avoid falling off the mountain.

In A CEO for All Seasons you'll find an essential climbing route that will take you through every stage. Featured in this tip-dense guide is wisdom from some of the world's most iconic leaders, including Dell Technologies' Michael Dell, Merck's Ken Frazier, Nasdaq's Adena Friedman, Morgan Stanley's James Gorman, Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman, ASML's Peter Wennink, and Chevron's Mike Wirth.

Unique in applying a number of sophisticated metrics to isolate the world's top 200 CEOs, reduce them to a representative sample, and then reap their wisdom, the McKinsey team spotlights the specific stage-based hurdles that CEOs face. From preparing for the role to starting strong to sustaining momentum to ensuring a lasting legacy, the book leaves no segment of the journey unmapped. Along the way, it offers proven strategies for maintaining forward progress and, crucially, alerts readers to common blind spots that can sabotage success, as revealed by a detailed survey of thousands of executives.

Whether you're an aspiring leader or a new-to-the-job CEO - or even a board member wanting to better steward your company's performance - this is the compact, hands-on guide you've needed. Its compendium of pressure-tested tips is a must-have game changer for leaders at all levels.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to Mann's review