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Get Four
|  | JANUARY 31, 2005
By Jack Ewing When CEOs Talk to Each Other At a closed session in Davos, business leaders shared their thoughts on running their businesses, what they would change, and more  At a World Economic Forum session open only to company CEOs, leaders of some of the world's biggest corporations brainstormed about what makes a great company. Afterward, they shared their insights with other attendees of the WEF conference in Davos, Switzerland. Here are some sound bites:
Michael S. Dell, founder and chairman of U.S. computer retailer Dell (DELL ), on delegating: "I make mistakes all the time. Part of the key to running a business is you don't make all the decisions yourself. Otherwise you become a massive bottleneck to progress." John A. Thain, CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, on taking over after controversies about the organization's governance and executive pay: "Part of being very successful for a very long time and having a large market share [is that] the New York Stock Exchange did become complacent. We have to be receptive to change. We have to give our customers what they're looking for." Robert L. Nardelli, chairman and CEO of U.S. home-improvement retailer Home Depot (HD ): "People who do things make mistakes. You shouldn't make the biggest mistake of all and do nothing." N.R. Narayana Murthy, chairman and "chief mentor" of Indian consultant and outsourcer Infosys Technologies (INFY ), on values: "Value systems are extremely important. The softest pillow is a clear conscience. As long as you have done the right thing by your customers, by your shareholders, by your employees, you can sleep well." Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO of French advertising and marketing company Publicis Groupe, on personnel management: "We do everything we can so that all employees are happy. Pay is important, but in a people field it is much more important to be happy." Charles O. Prince, CEO of financial-services giant Citigroup (C ), on delegating: "You can't possible know every transaction in detail. You have to know the [company] culture is right." Dell, in response to a question from the audience on what he had to change as his company, which he began in his college dorm room, grew to a multibillion dollar retailer: "I had to get completely new clothes." Murthy, on the importance of accurate information: "Most of the confusion in a corporation arises because people disagree about what happened. Trust in God, but everyone else brings data to the table." Levy, asked what he would do if he were just taking over Publicis for the first time: "I would move faster." Murthy, in response to the same question: "I would be more dynamic. [When the company began] we were conservative. We always asked the question: 'Is this going to work at all?'" William Donaldson, chairman of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and co-founder of investment banking firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, on what kind of person makes a good leader: "I've never seen an entrepreneur who was not possessed with energy and drive. There are very few laid-back, good leaders." "You surround yourself with people who have superior skills. You bring people into the company who can do things better than you." "Somebody had a message when he gave us two ears and one mouth. The mark of a good leader is that he can listen."  Ewing is BusinessWeek's Frankfurt bureau chief Edited by Patricia O'Connell
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