The Selection Decision

A large employer with whom I've had extensive dealings once had to fill a chief executive officer position. There were several strong candidates, but two of the strongest were already working for the organization. In order to maintain confidentiality, I'll call them Alfonse and Gaston.

Alfonse had spent most of his career in the company headquarters. He'd worked with the top executives in a high-level support capacity. Although quite capable, he was also a bit of a suck-up who always tested the waters before taking a firm position. If he told you Yes, he sometimes did No.

Gaston had also worked in the headquarters, but much of his experience involved serving as the director of several departments. Gaston, who was very amiable, had the capacity to turn things around with minimal disruption so he was often sent in to shape up problem areas. If Gaston told you something, you could rely on it.

Which candidate did the board of directors pick for the CEO slot?

You guessed it: Alfonse. People in the departments were shocked by the selection because, having worked with the two individuals, it was widely felt that Gaston was far superior. The board, however, had more experience with Alfonse and Alfonse made it a point to never, ever, disappoint the board. They liked Gaston, but his accomplishments were more distant and the board members didn't know about his opponent's personality quirks/character flaws.

Alfonse has done a credible job. He has not been an embarrassment. I ran into Gaston several months ago. He left the organization and has gone on to do impressive things. I'm still convinced that he would have been a much better choice but the story of Alfonse and Gaston illustrates several points:

• If you are not near the key decision makers, you are at a disadvantage.
• What are the rest of the organization regards as obvious truths may not be obvious to top management.
• If you are a top decision maker, get out of your cocoon.