I’d leave my PA, Shenaaz Aliverdi, behind, take a notebook with me and ask questions like: what would you do differently if you were me? What is it that management is doing right and should do more of? Participants had to answer both questions - they couldn’t be passive. You’d be amazed at the insights one gets about business from these two questions.

There is something only a CEO uniquely can do, which is set that tone, which can then capture the soul of the collective. And its culture.’ - Satya Nadella

I went to our board’s compensation committee and explained the dilemma. When you innovate, everything needs to change, not just the way you make or deliver a product. Many of the practices and structures within the company need to adapt, too, including, in this case, how the board rewards our executives. I proposed a radical idea— essentially, that I would determine compensation, based on how much they contributed to this new strategy, even though, without easily measured financial results, this was going to be far more subjective than our typical compensation practices.

What would Obama do?’ we took to asking each other in moments when his heart flagged. How do you handle yourself on the way out, regardless of whether you were given the respect you deserved?

Building strong relationships with your board members is another top priority of a new CEO. Yes, you’ve gone through an intensive interview process with them, and they’ve just selected you. But in the words of one CEO: “You won't know if you were selected by an inch or a mile.” Some directors may disagree with your vision and plans; some may even be dead set against you, but won’t share those sentiments with you.