Profile of the American CEO: Comparing Inc. and fortune executives

Given the documented differences between entrepreneurial and traditional organizations in their structure and climate, a well as the predicted escalation of competition in global markets in the upcoming decade, the present study focused on the following questions. First, do chief executive officers (CEOs) from different corporate environments differ in the attributes, skills, and abilities they possess, and second, what meaning do these differences have for CEOs in confronting immediate and future challenges in small growth companies and large corporations. A sample of 35Fortune 500 CEOs and 35Inc. 500 CEOs was assessed on the London House STEP battery in order to identify differences between these groups. It was hypothesized that although there would be some overlap, the pattern of strengths and weaknesses would differ between the CEO groups. Specifically, it was expected thatInc. CEOs would be more creative whileFortune CEOs would exhibit a better balance in their breadth of managerial and executive skills. Results showed that these hypotheses were confirmed. Both groups were, not surprisingly, high in their potential for success and were not significantly different from one another in this overall dimension. However,Inc. CEOs were significantly higher in creativity, ability to work under pressure, and developing technical ideas, whileFortune CEOs excelled in the interpersonal skills of communications, developing teamwork, supervisory practices, developing employee potential and in the areas of leadership experience and financial responsibility. Findings are discussed in terms of developmental and strategic suggestions for current and aspiring CEOs.Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Academy of Management, Washington, D.C., August, 1989.