Greetings! Prior to last weeks news on bin Laden's death, I had planned to introduce the first of an ongoing series of articles that I call "Confessions of an Accidental Success." The concepts come from my Fiscal Leadership speaking engagements and workshops. The lessons are universal to all leaders. 
Yesterday a colleague from St. Louis sent me a link to a short TED video by a survivor of the Miracle on the Hudson (see "Things to Think About During a Plane Crash below), the US Airways flight that Captain Chesney Sullenberger amazingly brought down safely on the Hudson River on January 15th, 2009. Just several days later, I was a passenger on a US Airways flight on my way to Kansas City to deliver one of my Fiscal Leadership programs to a group of Vistage CEOs. It was during the pre-flight safety instructions, with the images of that remarkable landing still fresh in my mind, that I fully realized the distinction between Accidental Success and "Deliberate Leadership". During my training to become a CEO coach and a Vistage Chair - I had learned about something known as the "imposter syndrome." This is a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments - or more mildly don't believe they are deserving of them. The feeling is often described as "waiting for the next shoe to drop." I remember quite vividly feeling that way the first time I had full responsibility for running a fairly substantial company and not wanting anyone to know how terrified I occasionally felt at the lack of control I actually had over situations that would directly impact my family's well-being - and of my 50 or so employees. I was probably equally frightened of anyone discovering this, which created an awful sense of isolation and some interesting bravado as compensation. I would later compare the feeling of being out of control to driving a car and hitting a patch of black ice on the road. You know you don't have any real control - but as long as you don't need to stop or turn - you feel you will stay on the road until your wheels regain traction again. For me, that loss of traction was not having a full understanding the financial underpinnings of what made my company work under stress. It was really a matter of not knowing how to manage the risks associated with the unplanned changes that are ever-present in the world. In truth, I had little interest in and not much understanding of the basic financial principles of running a business - and relied on others to keep an eye on that for me. It was surviving this that led me to eventually begin speaking on the topic of financial leadership. I was a poster child for why, as CEO you MUST have financial control of your company at all times. Norm Brodsky, recently wrote in Inc. Magazine that "a CEO must be financially literate in a way that goes beyond accounting. As CEO, you need to be able to use the numbers, not just to understand what has happened, but to help you spot trends, identify problems, and head off trouble before it hits you." This is part of his piece on the most recent issue and is reviewed below. Finally, back to Captain Sullenberger. The moment of truth came to me when the flight attendant mentioned that our seat cushions could be used as a flotation device in the "unlikely" event of a water landing. I realized then, that the thing that was most unlikely, was that hitting the water would actually be a landing - rather than a crash. But what struck me was "why" it had been a landing in the Hudson - and realizing that it was an aspect of leadership that avoided a catastrophic accident. In fact it was hardly by accident that US Airways Flight 1549 narrowly missed the George Washington Bridge and glided safely to a soft landing at the center the river's surface. Instead it was the captain's deliberate decisions and actions that saved hundreds of lives. He knew he had to act immediately and could not waste a moment second-guessing what to do. Knowing what to do comes from knowing how to do it from having confidence in our decisions. Fiscal leadership is all about helping gain that level of confidence. And when it comes to making critical decisions, it's why I believe so strongly in executive peer groups like Vistage. There simply is no better form of decision-making support available to CEOs and business leaders. On a related topic, there is an article from the NY Times citing a survey suggesting that small business lending is coming back. I had referred to this last week, but didn't provide the required link after revising the issue to accommodate the news on the death of Osama bin Laden. And just when it was getting safe to begin referring to yourself as CEO again, is also an article from today's Wall Street Journal on rising pay for CEOs of the biggest US companies. Finally, capping the week off is is today's news that Apple has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand - and why you might consider raising your prices. As always, wishing you a great and successful week ahead. 
Philip R. Liebman Managing Director, Strat 4 Group Chair, Vistage International | 
Viaconn's CEO Philippe P. Daumaan topped the list in the WSJ's survey of highest paid CEOs for 2009 with just over $84 million in total compensation. But as the CEO of a smaller company you may be wondering if you have what it takes to be a competent - if not - world-class CEO of your company. Norm Brodsky identifies five criteria that I have to agree with 100%. They include:
