After years of taking heat for Microsoft’s lackluster stock since becoming CEO in 2000, Steve Ballmer announced last month he’ll be stepping down. No doubt many CEOs who run public companies – especially ones (like Microsoft) that are under attack by large activist investors – often ask themselves when it’s time to step aside. But CEOs of midsized companies, especially those who own their privately held firms, don’t face the pressure that Ballmer has had for years from journalists and stock market analysts urging him to resign.
自从2000年担任微软（Microsoft）的首席执行官（CEO）以来，史蒂夫•鲍尔默（Steve Ballmer）一直因为公司股价的糟糕表现而备受指责。上个月，他宣布将退休。毫无疑问，很多上市公司（尤其是像微软这种遭到重量级积极参与型投资者抨击的公司）的CEO常常思考的一个问题是：自己该在何时让位？但中型企业的CEO，特别是那些自己本身就是企业主的私人持股公司CEO，则不用面对多年来新闻记者和股市分析师要求鲍尔默下台的那种压力。
Yet CEOs of midsized companies, too, need to understand the signs that might suggest the firm is better run by someone else. In fact, many of my midsized company CEO clients comment openly to me about whether it’s time to step down. Some think they should sell their companies; others think about stepping up to the board and bringing in a professional CEO to run the day to day operations. One client finally handed the CEO seat over to someone else, then took a sabbatical. It didn’t last, and the owner stepped back in. Another allowed a domineering VP make more and more decisions—even to push the owner and CEO into a passive role. Finally, the aggressive VP irritated so many that he had to go, and the CEO re-engaged.
但中型企业的CEO也需要弄明白那些应该退位让贤的信号。实际上，我的很多中型企业CEO客户公开向我谈起过让位时机是否成熟的问题。有些人认为，他们应该将公司出售。有些人考虑退居董事会，招募职业经理人来担任CEO，管理公司的日常运作。有位客户将CEO职位交给其他人，然后自己休假。但这种状况没有持续下去，后来他又“重出江湖”了。另一位客户纵容刚愎自用的副总裁作出越来越多的决策，甚至将企业主和CEO逼到了非常被动的地步。最后，这位嚣张跋扈的副总裁犯了众怒，不得不离开，CEO重新掌权。
Determining whether to stay or go is a critical decision for CEOs of midsized businesses because many are owned in part or entirely by the CEO. Her decision can affect the company as well as her own financial security. (Of course, with a Forbes-estimated net worth of $15.2 billion, Ballmer can’t be worried that his fortune is going to vanish, although he does own 333 million shares.) A CEO who is not doing a good job is often destroying her own asset as well as others’.
决定是走是留，这对于中型企业的CEO来说是个至关重要的决定，因为在很多情况下，他们部分或全部拥有其所在的企业。这个决定会影响到公司以及自己的财务安全（当然，据福布斯估算净资产达到152亿美元的鲍尔默不用担心他的财富会消失，尽管他确实持有3.33亿股微软股票）。表现不佳的CEO常常会使自己和他人的财产付诸流水。
When midsized companies hit rough patches, it’s only natural for a good, self-aware CEO to wonder if she’s the problem. Few CEOs are perfect. Some suffer from burn-out and disengage from the business. Others work like dogs but hardly see any positive change in the business. Most of the time the CEO just keeps marching on, with hope as the strategy: hope things will get better and easier. Usually, the business underperforms, with results slipping each year.
当中型企业陷入困境时，自觉性高的优秀CEO自然会怀疑问题是不是出在自己身上。没有几位CEO是完美的。有些CEO因为企业本身的后续乏力和四分五裂而穷于应付，有些CEO虽然不辞辛劳，但公司却鲜有起色。大多数时候，CEO只能继续前进，把希望当作战略：希望事情会变得更好、更容易。但企业常常表现不佳，业绩年年下滑。
CEOs who are considering stepping down should look at four key considerations.
正考虑让位的CEO应该看看以下四个重要的考虑事项。
1. Are you enthused and energized by climbing the next mountain? Is your heart and soul in the game? Are you certain you’ll be able to finish what you start? Steve Ballmer contemplated the massive changes Microsoft must go through and said he felt someone should lead the firm that could see it all the way through. Leading a firm takes a lot of energy, guiding it through hard times and big changes. It always takes longer than planned. If you’re tired and feeling burnt out, beware. It might be time to pass the baton. Doing it out of a sense of duty usually isn’t enough. Maybe you’d be more energized leading a company in a different industry, or leading a charitable organization. There are many challenges in life besides leading a company. Read this case study of a CEO’s saga of successorship.
1. 攀登下一座高山是否令你充满热情和活力？你是否全身心投入了这场游戏？你是否确定你能够完成你开启的工作？史蒂夫•鲍尔默仔细考虑了微软必须经历的重大转变，说他觉得应该让其他人领导公司去度过那些转变。领导一家公司需要付出很多精力，引领着它度过困难时期和重大转变。这个过程总是比原先计划的时间更长。如果你筋疲力竭，觉得太累，这就要当心了。或许是交出指挥棒的时候了。出于责任感而这么做，这常常还不够。可能领导其他行业里的公司或者慈善机构会令你感到更加精力充沛，除了领导公司以外，生活中还有很多挑战。
2. OK, so you’ve got the energy and passion to lead the firm all the way through the next chapter. But are you clear on the CEO skills and level of effort required? Do you have what it will take and do you have a specific plan to learn what you may lack? I’m reading Marshall Goldman’s book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” and it reminds me that the skills and behaviors of the leader change as a business grows. Many entrepreneurs who get their businesses to $50 million won’t like the roles and responsibilities of the CEO for a $250 million business. Spend some time with CEOs who run larger firms. Read this short case study on Dan Warmenhoven, former CEO of NetApps, to learn his approach to the role of CEO of a large firm. Figure out what you lack, and get cracking on learning it. Or find a CEO who excels at that size range to replace you, and start another firm that capitalizes on your strengths.
2. 好吧，你已经拥有那种精力和热情去领导公司度过下一个篇章。但你是否清楚地知道所需要的CEO技能和努力程度呢？你是否拥有那种能力呢？你是否有具体的计划去学习你所欠缺的东西呢？我正在读马歇尔•戈德曼（Marshall Goldman）的著作《管理中的魔鬼细节》（What Got You Here Won’t Get You There）。我从该书中得知，领导者的技能和行为应该随着企业的发展而改变。将企业规模发展到5,000万美元的很多企业家并不喜欢2.5亿美元企业的CEO的角色和职责。花些时间与管理着更大规模企业的CEO相处，了解大公司CEO的角色，看看你还欠缺什么，然后开始学习。或者找个擅长于管理那种企业规模的CEO接替你，而你则着手开创另外一家能够充分发挥你实力的公司。
3. Have you been successful recently? Have you been able to deliver on your intentions? If the answers are “no”, it’s possible you don’t have what it takes to be successful at your current firm. If you’ve put your all into it, and the results aren’t coming, maybe you are the problem. In large companies and firms with outside investors and a strong board, it’s at this point that the CEO generally gets fired. If you’re the owner of the firm and you’re the problem, then logically, you should fire yourself and hire a better CEO. Of course, the possibility does exist that you’re doing an amazing job in a difficult situation, and that without your efforts the firm would be worse off. So look at your competitors. If you’re doing better than most, good work! If you’re lagging behind, a new CEO might be better than you. Sorry for the strong medicine here, but feeling trapped leading a struggling company is truly a punishment. Move on!
3. 最近你是否取得了成功？你是否能够实现你的目标？如果答案是“不”，那么你可能不具备在目前这家公司里取得成功所需要的东西。如果你已经尽力，但结果并不好，那么问题可能出在你身上。在大公司以及拥有外部投资者和强势董事会的企业里，这时CEO通常就会被炒鱿鱼。如果你拥有这家企业，而你是问题所在，那么从逻辑上说，你应该炒掉自己，聘请一位更好的CEO。当然，以下这种可能性确实存在：你在困境的局面下做了非常出色的工作，要是没有你的努力，公司会变得更糟。所以，看看你的竞争对手。如果，你比大多数人都做得好，那么祝贺你！如果你落后了，那么一位新CEO可能会比你做得更好。很抱歉说这种伤人的话，但领导着一家举步维艰的公司令你觉得束手束脚，这实在是一种惩罚。放手吧！
4. Do your aspirations as a leader still align with your business’s destiny? Most businesses have limitations. They can only grow so much. Some have limitations on how much profit they can ever make. Some businesses are in consolidating industries, where margins thin every year and profits move toward zero. Some are in high growth sectors where the sky’s the limit. CEOs who dream of becoming tycoons will be forever frustrated in businesses that can’t deliver. CEOs who want a steady growth lifestyle business but find themselves in the midst of disruptive industry change will be disappointed too. If your aspirations are a mismatch with the business’s destiny, bring in a CEO better suited to conditions than you (or sell the business).
4. 你作为领导者的志向是否与你企业的命运一致？大多数企业都有各自的局限性。它们只能发展到那种程度。有些企业的盈利能力有限。有些企业处于并购整合的行业里，利润率年年下降，盈利向零靠拢。有些企业处于高增长行业，发展潜力无限。梦想着成为企业大亨的CEO们在无法实现这种愿景的企业将永远觉得灰心沮丧。想要企业稳定增长但却身处行业巨变之中的CEO们也将感到失望。如果你的志向与企业的命运不匹配，那就招募一位比你更适应企业所处环境的CEO（或者出售这家企业）。
If you’ve read the four considerations above and heard too many “no” responses, you might not be the best CEO for the company you’re leading. But before you post the CEO Wanted ad, consider that you might be burning yourself out, leading your business without the leadership infrastructure you need to get better results with less effort. One client who hired me was at wit’s end. He couldn’t wait to get out of the CEO seat. But as we got his leadership team engaged, put in some planning processes, laid out management communication processes, and trained him on interacting with his team and company in new ways, results started to improve. And it became fun for him. Six months later he reported that he’d never been more engaged with his company. Most of the answers to the four considerations above went from “no” to “yes”.
如果你已经读过了以上这四个考虑事项，回答里有太多的“不”，那么对于你目前领导的这家公司而言，你或许不是最适合的CEO。但在你发布CEO招聘启事之前，请想想看，你或许已经尽力而为，但你是否是在管理基础设施不够好的情况下领导你的公司，使你无法用更少的努力获得更好的结果。我的一位客户曾经无计可施，迫不及待地想要辞去CEO职务，但当我们使他的管理团队忙碌起来，加入某些规划程序，制定管理人员沟通流程，教他用新方法与团队和公司交流的时候，业绩开始改善。对他来说，担任这家公司的CEO变成了有趣的事情。6个月后他说，他以前从未像现在这样喜欢他的公司。这时，对以上四个考虑事项的大多数回答从“不”变成了“是”。
Businesses require active, passionate leaders who have what it takes to win. If you’re not sure that’s you, don’t sit still. Think deeply then take action, before business performance slips and circumstances take control.
企业需要积极主动、充满热情、有能力获得成功的领导者。如果你不确定你是这种领导者，那就不要坐着不动。在企业表现开始滑坡，局面不可收拾之前，请好好想想，然后采取行动。
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