Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Professor Michael E Porter, professor of Harvard Business School and acknowledged as the most influential living management thinker, has seven surprises for new CEOs.
He said: "As a newly minted CEO, you may think you finally have the power to set strategy, the authority to make things happen, and full access to the finer points of your business. But if you expect the job to be as simple as that, you're in for an awakening. Even though you bear full responsibility for your company's wellbeing, you are a few steps removed from many of the factors that drive results.
"You have more power than anybody else in the corporation, but you need to use it with extreme caution. Nothing - not even running a large business within the company - fully prepares a person to be the chief executive."
Professor Porter will make his first ever public presentation in Bahrain on January 26. He is the fifth thought leader to be brought to the kingdom by international event organiser Global Leaders.
He explains that the seven most common surprises are:
You can't run the company.
Giving orders is very costly.
It is hard to know what is really going on.
You are always sending a message.
You are not the boss.
Pleasing shareholders is not the goal.
You are still only human.
Porter said: "These surprises carry some important and subtle lessons. First, you must learn to manage organisational context rather than focus on daily operations.
"Second, you must recognise that your position does not confer the right to lead, nor does it guarantee the loyalty of the organisation.
"Finally, you must remember that you are subject to a host of limitations, even though others might treat you as omnipotent."
