CEOs Value Pragmatists With Broad, Positive Views

When Mattel CEO Bob Eckert meets prospective managers at his company, he recalls how he was interviewed before landing his first management job at Kraft Foods 25 years ago, fresh out of school.

By CAROL HYMOWITZ Wall St. Journal

After a spate of meetings with lower-ranking executives, Mr. Eckert was ushered into the corner office of now-retired Kraft President Ridgway Keith. He expected to be grilled about his grades at business school and his work experience. Instead, Mr. Keith asked him about his parents and his experiences growing up in Elmhurst, Ill.

"It was more chitchat than a formal interview, and at the time I thought it was weird," he says. "But later, I realized he was asking me about my values and trying to figure out whether I would fit with Kraft’s culture."

Mr. Eckert, now 48 years old, rose to become president at Kraft before being named Mattel’s chief executive officer two years ago. "Now, when I talk to young M.B.A.s and college students, I never ask about jobs on their résumés. I try to understand their values, what is most important to them and whether they will fit here," he says.

Mr. Eckert and many of the other new breed of 40-something CEOs, described in this column last week, are seeking a particular mix of talents from new recruits and veteran managers. After a year of accounting scandals, old-fashioned qualities like character and integrity count a lot. But as the economic downturn persists, this new generation of CEOs also seeks steady pragmatists more than visionaries.

Today, these executives want operations managers who can use their technical expertise to wring efficiencies — and cost savings — from work processes. They also need aggressive sales managers who establish close ties with customers to clinch deals.

"It’s no longer sufficient to walk up to a customer with a new toy and say, ‘Please buy this,’ " says Mr. Eckert. "You’ve got to have done your research so you can show it’s a toy that fits with the customer’s merchandise and store concept, and is something consumers want. You’ve got to be partners with your vendors."

At Mattel, he uses the acronym "matpics" to identify the skills and talents he thinks are most important. "M" stands for material knowledge of Mattel’s toy business, "a" for action leader, "t" for team builder, "p" for passion, "i" for integrity, and "c" for courage and the confidence to get things done quickly in a fast-cycle business where ideas are transformed into products and cash every few months. "S" stands for smarts, or creative intelligence, he says.

He wants employees to think of Mattel as a workplace where they can "keep learning and growing, have an impact and have fun," he says. But he doesn’t necessarily expect lifelong tenure from everyone. Although he has worked at just two companies, he realizes some young employees may want to zigzag among employers.

"Some of our best performers left during the dot-com boom and then came back," he says. "I no longer think if someone leaves, it is necessarily forever."

At a time when staffs are lean, he and other new CEOs won’t tolerate weak performances. General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt last week moved Yoshiaki Fujimori, 51, from his post as head of the plastics business after operating profit at that unit dropped 28% last year. He reassigned Mr. Fujimori, who had headed plastics since May 2001, to Tokyo to head GE’s Asian operations.

Mr. Immelt, 46, then named John Krenicki, 40, to head plastics and Charlene Begley, 36, to take over Mr. Krenecki’s former job as head of GE’s locomotive business. Now, nearly all GE businesses are headed by managers in their 30s and 40s.

Mr. Immelt would like to lengthen the time some GE managers spend in assignments. Under former Chairman Jack Welch, many GE managers were transferred to new jobs every 18 months to two years. That gave managers broad experience across the company but left some businesses without seasoned leaders.

"In this time of turmoil and cynicism about business, you need to be passionate, positive leaders," Mr. Immelt told his top managers recently. "I want you in the front lines. I want you with your teams. I don’t want you in the offices. I want you touching things, feeling things, driving cash and driving growth."

What about global experience? Big companies like GE increasingly look to every continent to sell products, and outsource raw materials and supplies. Overseas assignments aren’t necessarily needed to get ahead, but Mr. Immelt expects all of his managers to think globally about their businesses.

He encourages managers to "confront reality, communicate with clarity, pay close attention to details and if you don’t have experience, ask for help." He says they must continually seek information from employees to improve performance. And he dislikes staffers who, when asked a question by a manager, say, "Why do you need to know that?"

"If you have to ask the perfect question to get the answer," he says, "fire that person today."