CEOs Have a People Agenda
CEOs demonstrate their commitment to learning and develop-
ment by playing an active role in succession planning and by
constantly reinforcing the importance of recruiting and retaining
top talent. They are intimately involved in performance and talent
reviews and the development planning associated with the top
management. They ask their direct reports to do the same.
They have integrated their people agenda into the business
planning process. For example, they make learning a part of the
performance system by assessing their management team on
the results achieved in supporting the development of their people.
They teach their top executives how to be effective around feed-
back and encourage them to do more of it. They spend quality time
with their direct reports to plan their development. They insist on
documenting the impact of these efforts in positively changing
behaviors and improving long-term performance. They recognize
the importance of learning and adaptability to change as compe-
tencies in and of themselves.
CEOs Have a Knowledge Agenda
CEOs demand that the organization have a plan around the
growth of intellectual capital. They see one of their roles as foster-
ing the development of the collective IQ of the organization. They
put a lot of faith in mobilizing the collective intelligence of the
organization as a means of sustaining competitive advantage. To do
this, they set up mechanisms (such as networks, after-action
reviews, and dialogues) to foster the dissemination of “actionable
knowledge” throughout the organization.
CEOs Tell Stories
CEOs share their personal experiences through storytelling. They
use stories in a wide variety of settings (such as during executive
learning programs, employee or town hall meetings, management
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