Good Leadership Is About The Company's Success,

When I Became Ceo Of Xerox 10 Years Ago, The Company's Situation Was Dire. Debt Was Mounting, The Stock Sinking And Bankers Were Calling. People Urged Me To Declare Bankruptcy, But I Felt Personally Responsible For Tens Of Thousands Of Employees.

The Day I Was Announced As Ceo, I Think The Stock Dropped Another 20%.

As Much As It's Sometimes Hard To Make Choices About Where You Invest, It's Equally Hard To Make Choices About Where You Don't Invest And What You Eliminate.

My Dad Was An Editor And A Writer, And That's Really Where I Would Have Liked To Have Gone. But The Genetic Link Was Not Intact There, So I Wound Up Going Into Business. But I Love To Write, Still. I'm Not A Great Writer, But I Enjoy It.

One Of The Things We Often Miss In Succession Planning Is That It Should Be Gradual And Thoughtful, With Lots Of Sharing Of Information And Knowledge And Perspective, So That It's Almost A Non-event When It Happens.