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Imperial-style perks. Hero-worship media coverage. A stock market that moved in one direction. In the New Economy's stock-option bonanza, who didn't want to be a Chief Executive Officer? Today, the question is: Who does?
CEOdom, that once lusted-after sanctum of power, is now an office many wouldn't want to touch, say corporate insiders and top executive recruiters privy to the secretive inner workings at the top. These pundits of the leadership circle note an increase in the number of high-ranking executives who no longer want to be considered for CEO jobs -- as well as a growing group of reigning chief executives who are looking to launch their parachutes, even if they've turned bronze.
"I've never, ever had conversations with people along these lines," says Jeffrey Christian, a top U.S. headhunter who placed Carly Fiorina in her job as CEO of Hewlett Packard (HPQ
). "CEOs normally have to be dragged out kicking and screaming."
"IT'S EMBARRASSING." Although for reasons of confidentiality, Christian won't reveal which top executives are angling for an exit, he did say that several high-profile departures are in the works. When these leaders leave, though, they'll be likely to proffer the usual "personal reasons" or "off to other ventures" excuse. But the pure, unspun truth behind their departures is that their jobs have become nightmares.
The new disenchantment is hardly surprising. How would you like to claim as a member of your executive cabal a guy like Dennis Kozlowski, an alleged tax cheat accused of using Tyco (TYC
) as his personal ATM? Or Ken Lay, who assured lowly company loyalists in his soothing, grandfatherly fashion to hold tight to their Enron (ENRNQ
) stock even as the energy giant was headed toward a cliff? Confides one corporate chief: "It's embarrassing to be a CEO today. It's horrifying to see what's happening."
Aside from that, being a CEO in today's economy is anything but your dad's job. A few decades ago, it was possible to master an industry from front to back, guiding an enterprise with your own astute analysis. CEOs were expected to have all the answers -- and they often did. In a way, that gave them more control over their companies. And their personal fortunes weren't on the line.
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. Today, in the global, spin-on-a-dime, 24/7 economy, the job has become far too big for merely one person. CEOs can't possibly know everything. That means they depend more than ever on their lieutenants, giving themselves far less control. At the same time, with the ever-intensifying regulatory heat, they're being held more accountable personally -- for their company's finances as well as the ethical decisions of the thousands of people who work for them.
Moreover, they face multiple constituencies clamoring for their heads. Shareholders, feeling they were sold down the river, are furious. Employees -- with their decimated 401(k)s, evaporating bonus pay, and dim prospects for raises and promotions -- are an angry, unmotivated lot. And the favorite old CEO management trick of yore -- throwing a bunch of stock options at the problem -- is no longer plausible.
All the while, the personal attacks -- by the media, the lawyers, the lawmakers -- are mounting. "There's a target on their back. Why put yourself through it?," says John Challenger, CEO of the executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
"A LITTLE CLAUSTROPHOBIC." For some, it seems as if the limitless scrutiny unleashed on politicians after Watergate is now coming to pass for the country's corporate chieftains.
Already, outplacement firms such as Challenger's have noted a record number of resignations among CEOs this year. Typically, the so-called resignations of CEOs are code for "fired." But Christian and others say the ratio of those choosing to opt out is increasing. Further evidence of the souring attitude toward holding corporate office: About 60% of executives are turning down offers to serve on boards, says Christian, compared with 25% a year ago. "The walls are moving in, and they feel a little claustrophobic," says Christian. "It just isn't fun anymore."
Certainly, the majority of chief executives are still in the job for the long haul. But the mood swing is also becoming apparent even in the most mundane elements of executive life, for example, reading habits. During the boom, one of the favorite books of CEOs -- especially those in Silicon Valley -- was Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, the story of a visionary architect whose self-interested principles are forged of steel. Today, CEOs are turning to Rand's other famous novel, Atlas Shrugged. It depicts a witch hunt for corporate leaders that imperils innovation and threatens capitalism by holding hostage those very minds that make the system run.
SCOUT'S HONOR? Of course, about the only ones who feel sorry for CEOs are, well, CEOs. After all, they bear a big chunk of the blame. They gladly took monstrous pay packages while at the same time chiseling away at employee benefits. Many also played it way too close to the line, pouring out the dot-com juice and cookies, only to sell out before the party ended, sticking employees and shareholders with the bill.
Still, some good may yet come out of the changing zeitgeist in business circles. The swashbuckling maverick CEOs of the boom who above all else valued the autonomy to call their own shots will be replaced, many predict. And the new personality type at the top may well be Boy and Girl Scouts, bent on never breaking the rules. That may mean less innovation. But it might also prevent corruption.
Think of it as the post-Nixon, Jimmy Carter-era of corporate leadership. The risk, of course, is Jimmy Carter-style economic performance, but the change is still overdue.
Conlin covers workplace issues for BusinessWeek from New York Edited by Thane Peterson
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Copyright 2002, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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