Pressler recognized that it would be premature in the first hundred days to develop a comprehensive strategic plan - and even if he did, it might be wrong. But he knew that in an organization of 165,000 employees, he needed to find a way to set a direction and motivate the people.

Pressler felt many pressures, both from within the company and externally, to make changes fast, to be decisive, and to set bold visions. But he recognized that these were seductive traps. He did not allow himself to be portrayed as a savior, he most certainly did not attempt to be a know-it-all, and he made sure to keep open to the torrent of data and information that flows into any leader when they start a new role. He remains steadfast to his agenda of listening and learning, working with his management team, spending time on the sales floor and in the stockrooms at various company stores, and describing the discoveries, thoughts, and ideas to the management team and the company’s employees at large.

Eckert adds, “As the new guy, I realized that every first encounter with a Mattel employee had the potential to be fraught with tension, and I felt it was my responsibility to do everything possible to reduce it. Surprisingly, I found that in each situation, recognizing my own lack of knowledge about the company’s people and culture - in effect, allowing the employees to be the ‘boss’ in certain situations - actually helped me lead.

That’s why when Bob Nardelli succeeded the beloved cofounder of The Home Depot, Bernie Marcus, in December 2000, he set up a schedule similar to a candidate in the final weeks of a hard-fought presidential campaign: seven cities in seven days, with visits to seven stores at each stop. “There’s a broad range of constituents - maybe even more than usual in this business - so I really need to move from an unknown community to someone who was seen as approachable, willing to listen, to learn and then respond,” he recalls.

Henry Schacht also knows the important of putting on a game face in a crisis. When the former CEO and chairman of Lucent returned in October 2000 after the forced departure of CEO Richard McGinn, the technology bust had vaporized many of its customers and slashed the spending budgets of the one that remained. The financial analysts that Schacht had completed showed that Lucent could well run out of money in ninety days. Schacht’s crisis communication plan and the way he communicated with his largest customers helped save the company.