The Mindsets That Separate the Best Leaders with Vikram Malhotra

Being the top dog isn’t easy. In fact, 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs last fewer than three years. What does it take to get to the top and excel? Vikram Malhotra of McKinsey & Company joins Kevin to discuss the research findings on how the top CEOs do their job. Conversations with the best of the best revealed six similar mindsets across the board.

Key Points

• In this episode, Kevin and Vik discuss the process of determining CEO success. 
• Vik shares the 6 mindsets top CEOs share with a focus on being bold, treating the soft stuff like the hard stuff, and understanding team psychology. 
• Vik shares examples of how the mindsets worked in practice.

Meet Vik

• Name: Vikram Malhotra 
• His Story: Vikram Malhotra is the co-author with Carolyn Dewar and Scott Keller of CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest and a senior partner in McKinsey’s New York office and is the longest-tenured member of the firm. He served on its Board of Directors for 13 years, its Operating Committee for six, and its Senior Partner Committee for five. He was also Managing Partner for the Americas and currently chairs the firm’s Professional Standards Committee.
• Worth Mentioning: Vik is also active with major non-profits outside McKinsey. He currently serves as chair of the board at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a trustee of The New York City Partnership and a Trustee Emeriti of the Asia Society. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from the London School of Economics in 1980 and has an MBA from Wharton.

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Book Recommendations

• CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra 
• Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big Moves to Beat the Odds by Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt, Sven Smit 

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• Creating the We Mindset with Dr. Eric George
• Understanding the Success Mindsets with Ryan Gottfredson
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