fear, greed and fairy tales • p.j. o’rourke is out off wworkrk It Pays to Be Lucky Where Have the Leaders Gone? Formula One’s Benign Despot The Buck Starts Here The Man Behind the Cloud An Interview with VMware’s Paul Maritz Q1.2012.2012 chief executive officer Gary Burnison chief marketing officer Michael Distefano editor-in-chief Joel Kurtzman creative director Joannah Ralston circulation director Peter Pearsall marketing operations manager Reonna Johnson board of advisors Sergio Averbach Cheryl Buxton Joe Griesedieck Byrne Mulrooney Kristen Badgley Dennis Carey Robert Hallagan Indranil Roy Michael Bekins Bob Damon Katie Lahey Jane Stevenson Stephen Bruyant-Langer Ana Dutra Robert McNabb Anthony Vardy contributing editors Chris Bergonzi Stephanie Mitchell David Berreby P.J. O’Rourke Lawrence M. Fisher Glenn Rifkin Victoria Griffi th Adrian Wooldridge Cover photo of Paul Maritz: The Korn/Ferry International Briefi ngs on Talent and Leadership is published Jeff Singer quarterly by the Korn/Ferry Institute. The Korn/Ferry Institute was founded to serve Cover illustration: as a premier global voice on a range of talent management and leadership issues. The Zé Otavio Institute commissions, originates and publishes groundbreaking research utilizing Korn/ Ferry’s unparalleled expertise in executive recruitment and talent development combined with its preeminent behavioral research library. The Institute is dedicated to improving the state of global human capital for businesses of all sizes around the world. ISSN 1949-8365 Copyright 2012, Korn/Ferry International Requests for additional copies should be sent directly to: Briefi ngs Magazine 1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2600, Los Angeles, CA 90067 briefi [email protected] Briefi ngs is produced with solar power, FSC-certifi ed Advertising Sales Representative: paper, and soy-based inks, Erica Springer + Associates, LLC in a fully sustainable and 1355 S. Mansfi eld Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90019 environmentally responsible (323) 478-9845 manner. [email protected] Circulation customer service phone: 603-965-2232 This is a Skype number with worldwide service. Printed in the USA For reprints, contact Reonna Johnson at 310-843-4126. q1.2012 13 5 letter from the ceo latest thinking 8 fear, greed and fairy tales What exactly moves the markets? 10 can china continue to grow? The world is betting on China’s growth. 20 13 introverts at the top Quiet leaders are often best. 20 it pays to be lucky 14 time for boards to get serious How to be in the right place at the right time. For boards, it’s time for tough love. BY david BerreBY viewpoint 26 where have the leaders gone? 18 if content’s free, i’m out of work The world is clamoring for good leadership. How the Internet is changing one man’s economics. BY glenn rifkin BY p.j. o’rourke 34 formula one’s benign despot in review Driving at 220 mph, and making money too. BY doron levin 66 “flying without a net” 67 “the elephant in the room” 42 passionate about brands Great brands from the past have a future. parting thoughts BY lawrence m. fisher 72 mixing up the disciplines 50 the man behind the cloud What science can teach business. How VMware is changing computing. BY joel kurtzman BY al delattre, kristen BadgleY and joel kurtzman 70 34 58 58 the buck starts here People want to work in creative companies. BY jane edison stevenson and Bilal kaafarani 70 2011 in review The ups and downs of a very strange year. 42 FOLLOW NEW < THE LEADER. You’ll be in good company. Why are our competition’s private aviation customers and industry experts choosing CitationAir? Because they recognize that it’s not about being the biggest option, but being the “boutique” option. That it’s not about being the rst to offer fractional products, but the rst to transform the fractional industry with innovative new products. That it’s not about having the most customers, but the most focus on customers. Join the new leader and discover why CitationAir® is Where You Belong®. 1-877-MY-CITATION (1.877.692.4828) or www.citationair.com/TheNewLeader JET CARD • JET ACCESS • JET SHARES • JET MANAGEMENT • CORPORATE SOLUTIONS Citation_Briefings.indd 1 10/11/11 2:55 PM from the ceo optimism The world could sure use some. By Gary Burnison Bergonzi, in an article titled “Fear, answer truthfullY: Greed, Blame and Fairy Tales” in this agree disagree issue of Briefings, observes that we’ve In uncertain times, I usually expect the best. ] ] descended into a permanent state If something can go wrong for me, it will. ] ] of free-floating fear, “reinforced by I’m always optimistic about my future. ] ] communication technologies and the media that problems I hardly ever expect things to go my way. ] ] are everywhere, enormous, inextricable and unsolvable.” I rarely count on good things happening to me. ] ] Yes, many economies are challenged, but much more Overall, I expect more good things to happen debilitating is the psychological and sociological aftershock to me than bad. ] ] of the Great Recession: fear and uncertainty. (The answer key is on the next page.) The side effects have been many. For example, in the spirit of seeing the silver lining, online romance is up, way up, in these challenged times. It seems that unem- Several weeks ago, I was driving to work along the ployed and underemployed people have much more time Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif. The sun glistened on their hands to surf the Web for love … and, yes, it’s much off the ocean to my right. Suddenly, the traffic began to cheaper than chocolates and roses. The online match- slow to a crawl. Several cars were stopped in the median of making site eHarmony reports more traffic to its Web site a six-lane highway where traffic normally moves at 55 when the Dow Jones industrial average falls by more than miles per hour. One man had stepped out of his truck and 100 points. Go figure. was pensively staring at the ground. As I looked closer, I How about the other side of happily ever after — saw a bizarre sight in the middle of the highway: A skunk divorce? Well, we can’t afford that either. In the United was attempting to dislodge a McDonald’s soda cup from its States, the divorce rate briefly dropped to about 35 to 40 head. The skunk had obviously jammed its snout so far percent during the recession as some former starry-eyed into that cup to get the last drops of the sweet liquid, and lovers tried to hang on. Presumably, when the debate now it was stuck. The skunk was frantically scampering turns from who’s keeping the house to who’s stuck with left and right, violently shaking its head back and forth in it, you can more easily forgive your out-of-favor loved one a fruitless attempt to dislodge it. who perpetually forgets the toothpaste cap. If you are a More interesting to watch than the skunk, however, bull in a bear market, however, you will be encouraged to was the man timidly circling the animal — clearly at a know that the New York Law Journal is reporting that law- crossroads of uncertainty as to whether he should be the yers are seeing 50 percent more potential clients than hero of the helpless or the victim of cluelessness. Unfortu- they did three years ago. On the other hand, maybe it’s nately, our protagonist decided it was best to leave it to just pent-up demand! somebody else to solve this problem, and he got back in Another aftershock has been an insatiable obsession his truck and drove away. for risk, regulation and finger pointing. The left is moving Just like our protagonist, the world today is gripped by further left; the right is moving further right. Differences fear and uncertainty. Never before, in almost three decades overshadow commonalities. Self-interest trumps mutual David Strick of business experience, have I seen such pessimism. Chris interest. This issue of Briefings quotes Dr. Pamela Rutledge, Briefings on TalenT & leadership Q1.2012 5 who studies how emerging technologies affect cognitive America, reality, as former President Bill Clinton recently psychology, observing that “fear creates a divisive, us- said, is that the American dream has been under assault for versus-them environment that influences our behavior.” 30 years. It is precisely at times like these, with much of the In this issue of Briefings, Rifkin cites Michael Useem, world at the intersection of uncertainty and indecision, a management professor at the Wharton School and direc- that leaders must rise above the rest. In the article, “Where tor of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Have All the Leaders Gone?” Glenn Rifkin cites Warren Management, who believes that the defining principle of Bennis, the legendary organizational scholar and leader- leadership is “the ability to get beyond self-interest,” to ship author, who talks about a void in leadership across transcend constituencies. I believe a leader does this by the board in these challenged times. I recently had the communicating reality and, second, establishing the privilege of spending a sunny morning in Santa Monica, common purpose, moving self-interest to shared interest. Calif., with Bennis at his home. He often cites Max De People will change only if there is a reason to change. Pree’s assertion that “the first responsibility of a leader is Today, the reason for change is reality. Obviously, to define reality.” there is much more to be planted around these principles Let’s start with reality: Three years ago, the dark-out — strategy, timing, etc.