The Non-Fitters

Notes taken from a seminar by Donald N. Sull.

1. Track Record - Success can be in a narrow technical or functional area that later blinds a person to the broader context. Track record and be misleading: Other people or event may have had more to do with the success than the executive.

2. Brilliance - Brilliance in and of itself can be intimidating to others, but brilliant people sometimes dismiss people they believe are less brilliant than themselves or devalue other people's ideasand contributions.

3. Commitment - Overcommitment may lead to defining their whole lives in term of work and expecting others to do the same; being willing to do almost anything, including engaging in questionable activities for the sake of the business; or treating people as means to an end.

4. Charm - Charm can be used selectively to manipulate other people.

5. Ambition - Ambition darkens when people do whatever is necessary to achieve personal success, even at the expense of others or the organization.

6. Team Player - Not a risk taker, indecisive and lacks independent judgment.

7. Customer aka Listener-Focus - Can't create breakthroughs, can't control cost, unrealisticsand becoming too conservative.

8. Biased toward Actions - They are basically reckless and very dictatorial.

9. Analytical Thinker - They are becoming analysis paralysis, afraid to act and inclined to create large staffs.

10. Integrity - This is a holy-look type and bugs people by imposing personal standards on others.

11. Innovative - Tend to be very unrealistic, impractical and ending up wasting time and money.

12. Has Global Vision - Misses local markets, over-extended and unfocused.

13. Good with People - They are basically soft (not softie type) and can't make tough decisions because simply they are being too easy on people.