|
Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote the famous essay Self Reliance, might be ashamed of today's CEOs.
One in three at small companies doubt their ability to lead, says a new survey. These chief executives are looking at
themselves critically and questioning whether they have the chutzpah to achieve strong growth, according to a
PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of companies with sales of $1 million to $50 million annually. Of the 452 CEOs surveyed,
32% say their ability to manage or reorganize their business could be an impediment to growth over the next year.
"There are a lot of pressures these CEOs are facing today -- the push for customer service, cost control, competition,
time to market, the need to innovate. All of these factors are weighing heavily on CEOs. Add to that the profit
pressures these men and women put on themselves," notes PWC survey director Pete Collins.
What's remarkable is that faster, more powerful computer systems and software that handle inventory and payroll
apparently haven't made the job much easier. Five years ago, CEOs expressed much higher self-confidence. When PWC first
asked chief executives of small companies about assurance in 1993, only 10% said they doubted themselves. This year's
32% marks an all-time high for self-doubters.
By
David Shook
in New York
| 
