HOSPITALITY SALES MANAGEMENT
HA- 400
Phase I, Step 2, Topic 1
Careers
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So You Wanna Be a CEO Companies
are increasingly tapping the sales and marketing ranks for their top
jobs. Here's how some sales execs became CEOs—and the five steps you
can take to follow in their footsteps |
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No, she knew since the eighth grade that she wanted
to be the head of a company.
Huh?
Well, some kids just know what they want to do.
Cash was one of them, and she kept her eyes on the prize from the day she
entered the business world. It took her 15 years to reach the top—most of
that time she spent in sales—but in March 2000 she became president and CEO
of Princeton Softech, a software company based in
Cash started out in sales in the mid-1980s at the Club Corporation of
"I began getting more responsibilities that weren't typical of my job,"
she says. "By the end of 1999 I was operating more as a COO, dealing
with departments not usually associated with sales." When the vice president
of sales left, Cash got her job. And when the company's CEO (also one of its
seven founders) decided to leave, it was Cash he recommended to replace him.
Cash's story is one that's playing out in many corporations today. Executives
with backgrounds in sales and marketing are taking over. What was once a private
domain of execs with economics degrees and impressive management histories
beginning with an Ivy League MBA is now open to the ranks of sales and marketing.
The reasons for the shifting hiring tendencies are numerous—the need for strong
leaders, the increasing importance of profitable revenue at companies, a renewed
focus on branding, and the important role a CEO plays in attracting and retaining
top salespeople—but one factor is immeasurable: A strong focus on the customer.
In recent years companies have placed a higher importance on customer relationships.
They've changed their sales strategies to emphasize building long-term partnerships
with customers. And they're building profitable businesses on the notion that
it's far cheaper to sell to current customers than it is to acquire new ones.
It's sales and marketing executives who have this
knowledge, this background with customers, this understanding of how nothing
is more important than customer satisfaction. And it's no surprise that they're
the ones being tapped to lead companies.
"I think we are seeing more CEOs from sales and marketing because they
have highly developed communication and persuasion skills," says Al Lewis,
assistant dean and director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Management at
the A. Gary Anderson School of Management at The University of California,
Take Jeffrey Immelt, for example. After 20 years
of holding various sales and marketing positions at General Electric, Immelt took over Jack Welch's CEO office in September. Of
the three men vying for the top spot—Robert L. Nardelli,
former president and CEO of GE Power Systems, and W. James McNerney,
former head of GE Aircraft Engines, were the other contenders—analysts say
Immelt was most like Welch, outgoing and dynamic. Last July,
when the three GE executives were being considered for Welch's job, Reuters
polled nine analysts and GE watchers. Six predicted Immelt
would wind up as CEO.
While his pizzazz, charisma, and gregarious nature obviously helped get him
the top spot, it is Immelt's sales and marketing
experience and long history with customers that sealed the deal. "There's
no doubt that Jeff has a track record of close relationships with customers,"
says Bill Fiala, an analyst who covers GE for Edward
Jones. "He's already brought that sales and marketing experience to the
CEO job. GE is so large and so many of its relationships
are with some of the biggest companies in the world, solidifying those relationships
is what Jeff's doing now."
During an interview this fall with BusinessWeek,
CEO Immelt sounded an awful lot like a sales and marketing executive
when he said he intended to put his imprint on Welch's corporate initiatives
by making them more customer-centric. Immelt defined
that as three-pronged: making sure all the processes work correctly, for example,
so deliveries are always on time; ensuring that whatever GE's proposition
to the customer is, it will make that customer more money; and increasing
the effectiveness of GE's sales force.
"On our best day," Immelt told BusinessWeek, "one of our salespeople might spend thirty
percent of their time in front of the customer. We're working on tools that
make that seventy or eighty percent, so they can really deliver value."
A Broad Perspective
So how do you do it? How do you emulate execs like
Immelt and go from sales or marketing to CEO? Lisa Cash is
a textbook example. Since she was 13, Cash knew sales alone would never be
enough, and she took every opportunity to learn about the companies for which
she worked. That, though, is only the first step.
"You have to take your blinders off," says Kathryn Cramer, managing
partner at The Cramer Institute, in
Although most salespeople understand the need for good internal and external
relationships, they usually learn only those things that will directly affect
how fast they close a deal. It may be good enough for sales, but it surely
won't get you to CEO. "You need to understand more than just how shipping
affects your sale," Cramer says. "You need to understand how industry
trends affect your business, how the business functions in the broader context
of the economy, the national marketplace, and the global marketplace."
Whether or not it boosts your own sales numbers, if you want to move to the
top you have to look at how your entire organization works, not only politically
but also how various departments interact with one another. Learn your company's
strategic plan for being successful, Cramer advises.
The second step is to take on tasks outside your sales or marketing responsibilities.
Sales managers are usually focused on short-term goals, but CEOs take a long-term
view of business. To get the kind of experience that teaches you how to think
proactively and strategically, volunteer for planning committees and special
task forces, or any assignment that looks at the long-term vision of the company.
"This is a great way to show others you can think ahead and create a
road map for change," says Bobbie Little, director of executive coaching
at The Center for Executive Options, a division of career consultancy Drake
Beam Morim (DBM), in New York. "Make sure whatever tasks you
take on, or committees you join, are cross-functional."
Anne Mulcahy, president and CEO of Xerox, spent
most of her 25 years at the company in sales. She agrees that those who climb
the corporate ladder from the sales rung need to be willing to take on non—sales oriented assignments to broaden their experience.
"For many salespeople this requires a step outside the proverbial comfort
zone, to learn the fundamentals of business beyond the world of sales,"
she says.
Mulcahy's experience outside that zone included
human resources, marketing, and business group operations. A lot of work,
she says, but worth it. "Stepping off the sales track was one of the
most difficult personal decisions in my career. It also proved to be the most
valuable and rewarding."
DBM's Little advocates starting with small assignments
and then slowly taking on more and more, in addition to your sales responsibilities.
And don't limit yourself to your own workplace. "Offer to be on the boards
of other companies or take on community leadership positions," she says.
Another way to diversify your corporate experience is through short-term,
developmental assignments in other departments, such as finance or human resources,
where you spend six months to a year learning about that area. To do this
you need an advocate, such as a supervisor who wants to sponsor your growth,
or an executive within the company who will mentor you.
Shoot For the Top
Sales executive to CEO is not the traditional path for most top officers,
so you have to let your intentions be known. Be as loud and clear as necessary,
but whatever you do, make sure the decision makers of a company know you're
eventually shooting for the top job.
This third step is how Henry White eventually secured his CEO position. White,
now CEO at
The fourth step focuses on self-assessment. A CEO has to know his own abilities
and limitations. He must recognize his own strengths and weaknesses, as well
as those of the people he manages. Ideally, a 360-degree assessment focused
on leadership will give you the most in-depth and useful information. It requires
feedback from those above you, below you, your peers, and your customers.
"Give the survey to a dozen people, including your boss. All of this
is compiled and presented back to you in an anonymous report," says Sharon
Jordan-Evans, president of the Jordan Evans Group, an executive coaching firm
in Cambria, California. Human resources can usually help to arrange the assessment;
if your company lacks an HR department, seek help from an executive coaching
firm.
The key to this is self-awareness. Once you learn those weak points, beef
up your knowledge in that area and work on improving your abilities. This
way, finding out there are gaps in your leadership ability doesn't have to
mean an end to your CEO aspirations, Little says.
"Assessments don't tell you whether or not you have the stuff to be a
CEO, they tell you what you need to do to be the most effective leader."
The last and most important step toward attaining that corner office with
floor-to-ceiling windows is to network at the highest levels possible, preferably
with those in senior leadership positions, and to pick their brains. Yes,
it may feel like a game, but winning it can be quite gratifying. Identify
the critical players in your company and create meaningful relationships with
them, finding out what they do on a daily basis, what challenges they face,
and how they overcome them.
David Leslie, CEO of Intersect Software Corporation, a Sterling, Virginia—based
company that he founded two years ago, began his career in sales by asking
questions that would help take him to the CEO's seat. "At twenty I knew
I wanted to be a CEO," says Leslie, now 42, who was lucky enough to intern
at Tandem Computers while an undergrad at Berkeley. At the time Tandem had
just started up, and Leslie was taking direction from CEO James Treybig.
"He had a huge influence on me. One time in conversation I asked him
how he got to be CEO and what prepared him for a job like that. He said to
be a successful sales rep it's all about the customer and to run a successful
company, it's still all about the customer," says Leslie, who worked
in sales for 17 years before heading a company.
Ambitious executives should start developing those relationships by lunching
with top management and volunteering for assignments or positions that garner
attention. But be prepared to put in extreme effort—letting down key decision
makers is sure to end an exec's run toward the top spot. "Look at the
critical players in your company and create new relationships with them. Consciously
develop relationships with those who can give you advice," Little says.
And don't be afraid to have truly meaningful conversations with these people.
That's the tactic that Mark Astone used to get to
CEO. Astone, CEO of Panagraph,
a business-to-business marketing firm in Fresno, California, came to head
the company after three-and-a-half years as vice president of business development,
equivalent to vice president of sales. Astone set
his sights on the CEO seat during hiring negotiations.
"I spent about four or five months talking to Panagraph
before deciding to go," he says. Astone was
hired to grow the sales department—and the company—dramatically. "I told
the president back then that I could exceed their expectation of twenty-five
percent growth a year and then I made it clear in a respectful way that ultimately
I wanted to be CEO. I said I needed to know that I could earn the CEO spot
in the company."
Astone likens the situation to making a sale. "You
look at your audience and assess them," he says. "Where is this
person in their career cycle? If the CEO is 35 years old and their whole image
is wrapped up in being CEO, you may have to accept the fact that the situation
isn't going to work for you."
Panagraph's former CEO was reaching a point in his
career where he was considering transition planning, so Astone
knew he had the right audience and a good chance of closing his own deal.
It didn't hurt that he'd grown the business by 65 percent before he began
actively pursuing the CEO job. "If you can perform,"
Astone says, "you can usually write your own ticket."