Outlook Journal, July 2001
The feature articles listed in Outlook's tables of contents appear under headings that, for the most part, reflect specific strategic issues CEOs grapple with every day—customer relationship management, for example, or human performance. These categories also correspond to the fields of specialization of the Accenture professionals who are the articles' authors.
Occasionally, however, we will use a subject heading that is unlikely to appear on an Accenture business card. In these cases, the subject itself transcends narrower functional considerations and goes to the heart of running any successful organization. Leadership is one of those subjects; it is the glue that holds the modern corporation together.
We've visited leadership before. An article published in June 1999 looked at the impact of market-transforming changes like globalization and eCommerce on the skills needed to run a 21st-century company. The authors' conclusion: A higher degree of self-awareness and the ability to leverage personal strengths are essential to effective leadership. In January 2000 we analyzed the need for executives to actively engage in the sometimes painful process of changing themselves through learning so that their companies can innovate and grow.
In this issue, we again pick up the theme of change and leadership. Through interviews with more than 40 high performers from business and other fields, our authors looked at the ultimate change in executive life: preparing for succession. Their article (see "The right stuff") captures some of the most elusive but critical qualities of leadership, and it offers practical advice on how to develop these qualities in the next generation of leaders.
Part of being a successful leader, of course, is having a keen understanding of many of the other subjects our professionals address in this issue, including managing a portfolio of alliances (see "Building better alliances"), building a strong and distinct online brand (see "A breed apart"), and launching viable ventures (see "Corporate venturing without the tears"). Seen in this way, all our authors are leadership specialists, regardless of what it says on their business cards.
David Cudaback
Editor-in-Chief
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