Scott Howell Quotes

As a first-time CEO, I wasn't sure if I would scale to run IronPort long-term. But I wanted a legitimate shot at it.

Change in leadership does not only come in a pin stripe suit with a bald spot on its head.

We started Kotter International to improve leaders' ability to deal with big, important transformations in organizations - and in their lives.

Fidelity does have a succession plan in place to ensure a smooth transition.

All companies of any size have to continue to push to make sure you get the right leaders, the right team, the right people to be fast acting, and fast moving in the marketplace. We've got great leaders, and we continue to attract and promote great new leaders.

When I was a CEO, the books on management that I read weren't very much help after the first few months on the job. They were all designed to give you directions on how not to screw up your company.

I brought one big question with me to Harvard. Why do smart companies fail?

The lesson is that, No. 1, this management has to be at the highest class possible. No. 2, they have to have a succession plan.

If longevity is the best index to measure a company, a basic requirement is the ability of the corporation to generate new and new leaders.

Somehow, the company must stay true to the founding vision while avoiding the pitfalls of rapid growth - and perhaps survive the hiring of a previously successful executive who doesn't work out.

Essentially, you have to be aware of a crisis happening: 'Can the company go on if I get hit by a bus?' That's, I think, how you build a great company and something that can scale.

My view is that, as management, the focus has to be on having a strategy and executing it. As you do the strategy and execution, it is important to communicate it consistently.

I think it is quite dangerous for an organisation to think they can predict where they are going to need leadership. It needs to be something that people are willing to assume if it feels relevant, given the context of any situation.

Barbarian Management Bureau

As a company grows from 25 to 50 to 100 to 200 to 500 to 1000 people, the characteristics of who is the very best talent in leadership roles will change. It's rarely the case that your leadership team at 1000 people is the same leadership team you had a 25 people.

Challenges need to be given to an organization.

Sometimes, you do need different leaders for different stages of the company.

The role of a board of directors is to be a sounding board for the vision of the company - to hold executives accountable in executing that vision and to ensure a management succession plan is in place.

I think there's a lot of things that need to be changed in the business.

A policy of knowing your replacement is one of the best ways to drive a growth culture. It anticipates and eliminates the most harmful politics in leadership for an expanding company and instantly sets the right tone for a high-talent, growth-mindset executive team.

I am fully supportive of the strategy and leadership team at Valeant.

I think a CEO lives or dies in whether he's been able to hold on to elements of culture that are needed in the company.

Where there is no uncertainty, there is no longer the need for leadership. The greater the uncertainty, the greater the need for leadership. Your capacity as a leader will be determined by how well you learn to deal with uncertainty.

There is an inexorable correlation between leadership and change.

Management always has a big influence on your success, no matter how good or how bad the business is itself.