Head-Hunter’s Choice Not Running

WANTED: Chief Executive Officer of a major Superpower. Must have toughness to withstand grueling campaign. Vision to win hearts of 250 million citizens. Ability to manage massive bureaucracy, command military, charm 535 members of Congress and act with dignity on international stage. Decisiveness. Smarts. Experience as moral compass. Sense of humor, a plus.

The Presidency. It’s not just another job.

You, the voter, will decide who has what it takes to do it. So what are you looking for?

For real head-hunters, who search for top-ranked CEOs for multinational corporations every day, the answers are fairly easy. The job requires:

Defining the issues unique to a corporation (or in this case, a country), attracting talent, marshaling resources and getting things done. Micro-manager Jimmy Carter flunked this test. Eisenhower mastered it.

Anticipating and shaping events, not reacting to them. Both Roosevelts had this ability.

A sense of fiduciary responsibility. This goes beyond the bottom line. “Fundamentally, it means that the institution is going to survive and thrive for the next generation and the one after that,” said Stephen R. Scroggins, a managing director of Russell Reynolds Associates, a New York-based CEO head-hunting firm.

Someone who has that something extra. Presence. Charisma. Awareness. “It’s hard to identify,” said Janet Tweed, managing partner of the executive search firm Gilbert Tweed & Associates. “But the moment you see it, you know it.” “It” was something John F. Kennedy had. Dick Nixon didn’t.

But the CEO of the largest democracy on Earth has to have more than that. The president is a fulcrum not only of power, but of hope. In an almost spiritual sense, the president is the keeper of the American Dream.

Thus, a president also needs:

Stamina and perseverance.

Maturity. This is the person who determines not only what life on welfare will be like, but whether to annihilate all life on the planet.

The vision thing. It’s the ability to see beyond narrow interests to the big picture. And then to communicate that vision to voters and turn them into followers. Ronald Reagan was best at this.

Intestinal fortitude. Standing on principle. Even when people disagree, this stubborn quality is one they have always admired in their presidents. George Bush won points by drawing the line in the sand with Saddam Hussein.

And, perhaps most important after a bitter and divisive election, a president needs to build common ground.

“The fact of the matter is, human beings are motivated primarily by self-interest…it’s very difficult to achieve the common good without the support and persuasion of others. That is the role of leadership,” said Robert Bies, a professor at Georgetown University who studies leadership and power. “People view the president as an advocate of the common good. Because really, who else is?”

Beyond that, a president, unlike an autocratic CEO, can’t just look under the hood and fix the nation. The main power a president has, really, is the power to persuade. A president needs to grasp the national mood and political climate well enough to nudge and compromise and move a proposal forward.

“The job takes great political skill. An ability to work with and through people,” said R. Gordon Hoxie, founder of the Center for the Study of the Presidency in New York.

Given this rather rigorous job description, how does the current cast of top contenders hold up?

Bob Dole, both head-hunters and presidential scholars agree, scores points on understanding the political system and skillfully maneuvering within it. He fails on vision.

Pat Buchanan wouldn’t even make it on many head-hunters’ short lists. Though his vision is clear and his rhetorical skills are sharp, he’s exclusionary. Good leaders are inclusive. Plus, he has no experience. “If I took (his name) into a board of directors, they’d fire me,” said Ronald Walker, a senior partner at Korn/Ferry International, a CEO head-hunting firm.

Likewise, millionaire publisher Steve Forbes wouldn’t make the list. His political skills to work with others - like Congress - are questionable.

Lamar Alexander is still an unknown. He appears to have a good track record in both business and politics, and appears to have a vision. “It’s going to come down to the chemistry” with the voters, said Scroggins.

Bill Clinton has on-the-job training, and, like Reagan, is a great communicator of people’s hopes and fears. Where he falls short is credibility.

What of Colin Powell, the retired general who bowed out of the race last November yet, according to exit polls, would have won the New Hampshire primary had he been on the ballot?

“He’s a visionary. He ran big, complicated operations,” Scroggins said. “He’s an inclusionary person who attracts talent, knows how to motivate it, and has a clear sense of fiduciary responsibility.” In other words, he tops the list.

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