Soft Landing
Life can be cruel. One moment you are staring at goats. The next you’re reading about the sudden departure of CEOs in industry who were unceremoniously let go. The requisite press release states the board decided to go in a different direction, or the leader decided it was time to spend more time with family. Whatever. The euphemisms are on full display.
I hope these leaders take solace in knowing they aren’t the President of the United States who faced a public melt-down in its full glory for all the world to see. How awful. The press circled like sharks. Nancy Pelosi worked the back rooms without having to say a word publicly — master stroke politician if there ever was one. And the Obamas? A preeminent performance showing the power of staying silent — until you pounce. Genius.
There is a time and place for knowing when to step down. Biden whiffed on that one. But we leaders need to take ourselves out before someone else does — listen to our heart instead of our head or our ego. As one of my favorite industry leaders has said — CEOs have a sell-by date. We all do. Some get pulled back in — once, twice, thrice — Michael Dell, Charles Schwab, Howard Schultz. Some just lose their mojo if they had it in the first place. Was Mr. Niccol the right fit for Starbucks; Mr. Calhoun for Boeing? Hindsight is 20–20 and it’s easy to say no. But leadership is more complex. More nuanced. There are so many things at play — knowing what kind of CEO you are — entrepreneur, growth, maintenance, turn-around? Public company vs. PE-backed?
Sometimes it’s the headwinds that take you down; sometimes the tailwinds have your back, and it looks like you can do no wrong. Or is it the industry you’re in? Whether you have the right resources for the job and for your knowledge and skills?
In our 30 years at Outsell, I have seen many CEOs come and go. I’ve consoled them, provided support to them, lent an ear as someone who will just listen.
I told one CEO her ousting was not about being a woman; it had happened to two leaders before her too and her emotions were taking her down a dangerous path. Another worked for a PE owner who was borderline pathological. “Nope it’s not you,” I had to say. “When will you say it’s enough? What’s your criteria for when it’s time to leave?”
Thomson Reuters used to have ‘let go season.’ You could tell time by their re-orgs and announcements of who was departing. It was always near year-end when the results were announced and the requisite KPIs at the time weren’t met; whether it was inorganic growth, margin delivery, you knew it was coming at the same time each year for those that didn’t deliver the precise goods. At least you knew what was measured and managed. I give them that.
Others don’t see it coming. They often don’t. One client’s PE owner planned a departure six months before they actually let this leader know and never had the guts to say so. In fact, they made the announcement right before a planned vacation. Ugh.
I know of one who was let go right before he was about to take paternity leave. Honestly, I don’t know what people who do this even think. Why do they feel we have to take people to slaughter, yank their dignity, rather than just look them in the eye and say we don’t have a fit — we’re going in another direction. We’re giving you notice and will help you land. There are companies that do this to be sure, but I get the phone calls when the weak sticks don’t have the you-know-what’s to look someone in the eye and say what needs to be said. They are wimps. I’d rather stare at goats any day — at least they have the integrity to look you in the eye and keep chomping.
Several leaders have asked me of late how to think about succession or their plans for retirement. Other younger entrepreneurs ask me about when it’s time to sell, make tradeoffs between doing your own thing and working for the big corporation. Life is full of trade-offs, and they need someone to talk with.
Others want support while they look for their next role — as they head into new sectors or discover new companies and want to explore what’s good and right about these opportunities and what to stay away from. Whether it’s a sector, a business model or owners. We have told some leaders — run don’t walk from this opportunity. There are others where we help make introductions or more so give them the skinny on opportunities and threats for what’s ahead. We’ve always said we have your back, and we keep supporting people when they need it the most. How do we do that specifically besides picking up the phone (or a video call) and lending an ear:
- Helping to network/broker opportunities.
- Keeping leaders with access to Outsell while in transition — that includes the ability to receive the Outsell Doorway and daily headlines, review research as necessary, speak to an analyst or someone with understanding of the sector, ownership structure, or whatever of a company or market they’re considering.
- Checking in — asking from time to time “how are you doing and is there anything you need?”
- Recognizing status in Outsell’s Relationship Matters (CRM) as exec-in-transition so we can make sure we maintain the white glove.
- Sending CEO Advisories. If they are a leader of a larger company (often public or market leaders) they will receive a CEO Advisory from us upon their first 90 days in their role. If they haven’t stayed in touch, are newer to us, don’t know we provide support in transition, or simply didn’t ask us for our views — we will start them off with an Outsell care package — what we call the CEO Advisory, that includes relevant research and an unbridled view of the opportunities and challenges they may face and our views of implications and essential actions.
Some leaders have negotiated us into their departure packages so they can take membership with them. Some have negotiated us into their employment agreements, so they are guaranteed we come with their new role.
At the end of the day, we are here for you. And client feedback like this from one recently departed CEO says it all:
“…the research from your team on Gen AI, LLMs, and impacts to information services businesses was the most insightful business research I have seen…”
It reminds us of how important our work and support is — each of you matters to us.
When leaders in our industry flip like pancakes, and it often feels that way, it is our privilege to be the one with the spatula catching you mid-air and making sure there is a soft landing. We all deserve dignity.