McKinsey Global Publishing’s Raju Narisetti, host of Author Talks, chats with McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra. In their book, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest (Scribner, March 2022), Dewar, Keller, and Malhotra offer a manual for excellence for those who shoulder the burden of being the one on whom everyone counts: the CEO.

In the interview, Narisetti covers everything from why the authors wrote the book to how they chose which excellent CEOs to talk to for the book.  Plus, there are surprises on the list of CEOs they spoke with and they give a huge tip on what sets some of the best CEOs from the rest.

Author Via Malhotra emphasizes the following:

“Great CEOs are bold [and borderless]. You can be bold regardless of context. Or you can be bold within that context. If you’re not bold in that first year [of taking over the role of CEO], you’re not going to move the needle. That is the crux that’ll actually let you conquer any context and any situation around failing. That is your one safeguard against failure.” – ViK Malhotra

An edited version of the conversation can be found here.