Earlier this month when Lewis Hamilton won his 92nd F1 Title, he surpassed Michael Schumacher’s all-time mark. At the beginning of this week, Aditya Puri hung his boots after 26 years as the CEO of HDFC Bank, one of the most successful Banking stories worldwide. What facilitates such champion drivers of success?
The Economist celebrated Hamilton’s success by reminding readers, “Engineers, not racers, are the true drivers of success in motor sport”; echoing similar underpinning, Aditya Puri in his exit interview on CNBC quipped, “maybe I have been the public face of success but in reality, it’s the process driven organization and a team to deliver this…”. Surely neither you are reading this for the first time nor is Aditya Puri going to be the last one speaking on the subject. The moot point is, can a CEO achieve F1 success without the support of the team in the background?
The Economist quoted a seminal research of F1 in narrating Hamilton’ story. It established that a driver’s contribution to the success is under 20%. It is the team that earns him success. The 2-second pit stop in the 7200-second race makes all the difference to the life and success of a Formula-1 driver.
A company Board filled with people who have transcended their personal whims and wishes makes a difference (as a pit shop) to the success of company and its CEO. Often, the Management and many an Independent Director themselves doubt their own efficacy, citing minimal time the Board gets to spend every quarter. It is not the duration but the quality of time wherein the unbiased view, objective assessment of the track & climate, the diversity of thought and the wisdom of Board collective that makes a difference.
Therefore, not surprising that even 10 years ago Aditya Puri in an interview about governance in HDFC had said, “(the board) ensures the values of the bank, objectives and principles are followed… variety of experience they have is valuable in managing risk or defining the macro environment… making sure that the policies reflect risk appetite of institution…”
Where is your pit stop as a CEO? Who are your team members? Who is your lollipop man? Who are your on-the-jacks-men? These are essential to guide you signal for applying/ releasing the brakes, change tyres, refuel and help you save precious moments – all help re-equipping you for next round race. Remember, management team reporting to you may never truly be a pit stop that defines success. Many a rat-racer, often are part of your team with their own end objectives.
I urge the reader CEOs and executive teams of the unicorns scripting their next success to use their Board as a pit shop. If you are a Chairman of a company, or the head of NRC recruiting for the next slot on Board, do hire the crew that does justice to the role and take your Board beyond the tick-in-box statutory compliances.
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