Lack of Experience Can Be An Advantage
Source: Predicting CEO Success: When Potential Outperforms Experience by Spencer Stuart
It is very common for youngsters to be told that they need to get adequate amount of experience before they can be considered for a role. This is circular logic at its best. No one can get experience without starting somewhere, even if it is for the CEOs role.
Pattern-recognition advantage
Look carefully for the pattern, and then choose which pair of numbers comes next
42 40 38 35 33 31 28
This is an alternating subtraction series in which 2 is subtracted twice, then 3 is subtracted once, then 2 is subtracted twice, then 3 is subtracted once and so on.
Once you know the pattern it is easy to guess the next number.
A CEO with years of experience as a CEO has the ability to bring in talent from their network. When the experienced CEO steps into a new organisation, they can quickly spot the inefficiencies. Their onboarding is quick because they recognise patterns and can take quick decisions.
When you go to an experienced doctor, they can take one look at your condition or test reports and diagnose the course of action. Text books are full of the patterns that doctors have noticed and studied over generations. By reading what is already been studied and codified, the students of medicine get knowledge.
Read more: Pattern recognition
Experience can be a burden
Exponential growth: In a fast changing and uncertain world, relying on one’s past experience can be a burden. When Covid-19 was making its presence felt, a number of world leaders relied on their “previous experience”. They lost precious time to take action. The result was the devastation that escalated.
New scenarios need new mental models.
New scenarios need new mental models
In the fast changing world, none of the older models that have worked before are usable. This is where having the mind of a beginner can be a tremendous advantage. Research shows that being able to create new mental models results in more stable performance and better returns for the first-time CEOs who in turn have longer tenures.
Read what Spencer Stuart’s research has to say <click this>
H/t: Kristie Wright
