•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Managing global brands in the current business landscape characterized by markets without boundaries, competitive co-optation, information overload and uncertain regulatory environments is indeed an extremely challenging task.

Unlike the leaders of yesteryear, chief executives of global corporations today are under pressure from multiple stakeholders.

The capital markets demand consistent quarterly results, many nongovernmental organizations expect social responsibility, diverse national regulations place different pressures on multinational companies and ultimately the empowered customer continually expects more for less money.

Given these challenges, the CEO of a global corporation is key to the formulation and implementation of winning strategies.

CEOs not only act as transformational leaders to internal stakeholders by leading with vision and motivating employees to deliver their best, but they also act as company ambassadors to external stakeholders such as customers, governmental agencies and other collaborators.

But with such diverse demands, how can new CEOs perform optimally?

Not only should they learn on the job, with every company and industry posing unique challenges, but they should also leverage some underlying commonalities to be able to act fast, accurately and in an efficient manner.

New CEOs are brought in either because the company wants to change direction or re-energize its stakeholders with a fresh perspective.

Either way, the new CEO always seems to have a mandate, as decided by internal and external stakeholders. As such, the first step a CEO should take is to understand the implications and importance of such a mandate.

When Citigroup brought in Vikram Pandit as its new chief, the mandate was to consolidate the different businesses and focus on core banking.

When Indira Nooyi took the helm at Pepsi, the mandate was to gradually move the beverage company away from soda to a healthier portfolio.

The biggest challenge for any CEO, old or new, is to understand, evaluate and, when necessary, tweak the culture of the company. Incompatible culture has been the fundamental reason for many failed acquisitions and CEO exits.

Handling corporate culture is very tricky. It tends to be deeply entrenched and resists change. As such, new CEOs should spend time with employees, managers and labor unions, to understand the myriad aspects of culture before implementing any strategic changes.

Effectively leading a global organization is essentially good teamwork. One of the most important things a new CEO should do is bring together competent and effective executives to form a formidable yet functional team.

Given the diverse functions that a CEO has to oversee and make decisions on, it is essential that the chief is supported by a top-notch team.

Contingent on the nature of the industry and the extent of competition, CEOs should bring in a chief operating officer to delegate all internal issues so that the CEO can focus on external matters of priority.

Leaders are always given some initial leeway, often referred to as the honeymoon period, to learn, make mistakes and eventually find their footing. CEOs are no different.

When a new chief is brought in from outside the company, this period tends to be longer as the CEO may not know the culture and other formal and informal norms of the company. Such time should be strategically used.

Most new CEOs tend to strike a competitive posture by implementing some observable change such as significant layoffs or divesting parts of the business.

However, this early time should be used to design a strategy that goes beyond the honeymoon and allows the CEO to take long-term action.

Managing perceptions has never been as important as it is now. With instant and constant media exposure, managing external expectations is extremely crucial for new CEOs.

Being new to the job, CEOs get bogged down by a number of different priorities and many tend to relegate interacting with the media to their PR departments.

Proactively engaging the media, especially influential institutional investors and stock analysts, can go a long way in allowing the CEO time to handle other priorities.

Martin Roll is a global business and brand strategist. Web site: http://www.martinroll.com