The Right CEO: Straight Talk About Making Tough CEO Selection Decisions

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Summary: The Right CEO
Review: Ever hear the cliche, "He wrote the book!"? Well, in the case of THE RIGHT CEO, it's not a cliche at all. Fred Wackerle really has written THE BOOK on this topic. It's the real deal, the definitive treatise if you will, on CEO selection. THE RIGHT CEO is filled with uncommon wisdom and genuine lessons of experience. Whereas some good books are written by people who research an interesting topic, then write about their findings or opinions; here's a book written by someone who really is an expert, who has "lived" the subject matter, and has plenty of facts, evidence and real people and stories to back it up. Now, if only THE RIGHT PEOPLE (like Boards of Directors)would read it...

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Summary: Straight-Up Content on Selecting the CEO
Review: Fred Wackerle gives all interested parties some plain talk and solid content on the subject of selecting a CEO. Given the high profile successes and failures that have come to light in this age of new transparency and accountability and the shortened half-life of all but a few senior executives, Wackerle's experience and hands-on advice are required reading for all concerned. Wackerle also espouses a few theories and opinions about the who and how of CEO selection that are not that popular amongst frequent board members and CEOs. For example, he believes the current CEO needs to give his opinion and then butt-out of the job and the succession process in a timely manner. He also has strong opinions about companies that have to look outside for a new CEO because they have done no real succession planning. He thinks it's often a sign of senior management and board failure. And finally he addresses head-on the issue of executive compensation and the role of the search consultant. He wishes that all executive search professionals could balance the best interests of the candidates with the best interests of the company, so there would be no conflict of interest. However, in my opinion, this is like asking a real estate agent to get the best deal for the buyer. It's rarely done. Given that Wackerle is now retired, he is free to tell it like it is and offer his hard-earned experiences as both cautionary tales and inspiration to managers and directors to be better stewards for all stakeholders.

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Summary: The CEO selection process is broken.
Review: Fred Wackerle has written a book that will become the conscience for all of us involved in CEO selection. He captures the essence of what really happens...he's been there. He reveals the myths of the CEO succession process and why today it is broken. The book is must-reading for anyone who cares about the future of corporate leadership. Having successfully recruited CEO successors, Fred has come to believe that many decision-makers in the CEO search and selection process - especially board members - are in the dark about what it takes to find top executive talent.

In this amazingly frank book, Wackerle illustrates the darker side of CEO selection and board governance by characterizing the key players in the typical succession process: the head of the search committee,a board member and Harvard Business School classmate beholden to the current CEO; the chief HR executive, now torn between serving two masters; an executive search consultant with questionable values and who may not have the experience to take on an assignment of this nature and magnitude; and finally, the CEO "wannabe" who is so naive about accepting the top job that he jeopardizes his entire career. The process is rife with conflicts and complexities.

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Summary: A tremendous learning tool!
Review: Fred Wackerle is a well known Executive Search Consultant who has delivered a product that is based on years of experience working with Boards on CEO searches and succession issues. His book is a great expose on the interworkings of the CEO hiring process, the problems that exist and continue to go on in many organizations. The book clearly outlines the search process from five different perspectives, the Board Search Committee, the CEO, the potential candidates, the CHRO and the Executive Search Consultant. Using a sample company, Fred describes the issues impacting each participant, identifies the pitfalls and the corrective action required to eliminate the problems. The author accurately describes the right way to execute a CEO search for each of the five participants and includes the steps each must follow to conclude a successful search.

There is a definite need to inform, educate and hold accountable Boards of Directors for the proper selection of a CEO. "The Right CEO" outlines a process participants should follow is must reading for all Board Members and all participants involved in the CEO selection process.

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Summary: From a Winner in a Treacherous Arena
Review: Fred Wackerle's book, The Right CEO, is the work of a big picture, comprehensive mind centered on a subject of practical action that stands as first priority in today's leadership vacuum in the top management of our corporations. Most books by consultants bore us into a stupor or show off with charts and graphs and arcane language that do little to show us a proven way when we want guidance in an area of supreme importance to us. And we want that in as clear and brief a form as possible without selling out to simplistic solutions. This book has authority stamped all over it. The author has competed in a treacherous arena and emerged victorious-all without bragging about it.

No current CEOs considering their successors, no boards of directors responsible for those successions, no heads of human resources seeking to be stand up catalysts for those successions, no consultant called on to conduct the searches for those successors, and no potential candidates for CEO positions should enter this arena Wackerle has written about without his threadbare book in their hands.

Many books start out strong and fizzle as they move toward their conclusion. This book starts out strong and just gets stronger, weaving early points into constantly enlarged lessons that are a rich diet for the reader hungry to learn how a CEO search can be conducted expertly. The result of such a search is to land a CEO in the job who not only is the right person at the right time at the right company, but a CEO secure-at home in her own skin. Because she's at ease with herself, other people are at ease with her.

I said the book is practical-step-by-step straightforward without big words, but it's also wise and futuristic. The important thrust of Wackerle's message is that the work of a CEO search is collaborative, where the principals in the action conduct themselves in complete candor-yet matched by trust. That's a skill worth working at and mastering!

Allan Cox is author of Straight Talk for Monday Morning

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Summary: Savy and Experienced
Review: Fred Wackerlee has been on the forefront of senior executive recruiting for many years. I have been waiting for this book and frankly I have not been disappointed. It is the best. Bravo Fred! He captures the intersancum of what happens in CEO selection & succession. He should know - he has been there and has the street smarts to see what is really happening. Fred knows the myths of the CEO succession process and why today it needs changing - especially with the malfeasance of the 90s. This book is a must-read for executives & academics who care about the future of free enterprise, corporate leadership, talent and stockholders.