Logitech
A sense of humility is the antidote for complacency.
Logitech’s Guerrino De Luca considers himself an apprentice. “I may be the CEO of a billion dollar company,” he says, “but I know that I don’t have all the answers. I will always be an apprentice, always trying to learn and understand more, surrounding myself with the brightest people I can find, and always staying grounded. I believe this apprentice frame of mind is critical to success, whether you are the CEO of Logitech or a manager of a local restaurant.
“I’m never comfortable setting myself apart from everyone else. If you carry a title like CEO to heart, you’ll view the organization through polarized lenses, only seeing what you want to see—not what needs to be seen.
“Maintaining an apprentice’s perspective keeps me on the same plain as other decision makers in your organization, creating a healthy team dynamic. As an apprentice, I have the opportunity to glean from the expertise of my management team and let others around me become more comfortable leading. My vision is the accumulation of the 5,000 pairs of eyes that comprise Logitech.
“As a CEO, a leader, and an apprentice, I never tire of fresh thinking.I relish it. I crave it. And I try to surround myself with those who challenge me. We’re a global company with an internationally diverse team of empowered people. Our senior executive team includes a Frenchman, an Italian, a Taiwanese, a Dutchman, an American woman, and two American men. I encourage everyone to think like a CEO, a CFO, a COO. Some of the best decisions I ever made were the decisions made by others.
“The apprentice also has a sense of humility that is an antidote for complacency. You can never think that you’ve done it all, that you’ve reached the pinnacle of your profession just because you carry a title like CEO. A complacent leader is the foundation for a house of cards that will inevitably come tumbling down.
“One might say the apprentice’s approach is similar to Zen’s beginner’s mind. While I’m not formally educated or practiced in Zen, I believe it’s critical to always maintain an open mind, to be a knowledge sponge, surrounding yourself with the brightest people and willing to soak up their thinking.
“As a CEO, I have to be a generalist, and allow my specialists to develop expertise in their areas. It’s important for me to have an open mind in order to truly hear them, and to be able to act on the knowledge and insight they present to me.
“For example, shortly after I joined Logitech in 1998, we were gearing up to launch our first cordless desktop—a keyboard-and-mouse combination. The value was clear to many: provide a complete cordless solution for consumers who were craving the opportunity to clean up their desktop and free themselves from cords.
“It wasn’t immediately clear to me. I’d always been of the opinion that consumers were looking to buy components individually. I felt there were consumers who wanted mice, and those who wanted keyboards, but very few of those who wanted both. Ultimately, in the role of apprentice, I let our seasoned product management team continue with the process and launch the product.
“It’s a good thing. Ever since, our cordless desktop products have been among our bestselling products. With the cordless desktop as a major factor, we’ve now sold more than 40 million cordless devices, and Logitech is recognized as the world’s leader in cordless peripherals.
“One might argue that staying with the apprentice mindset might lead to the perception of weakness. I would argue that failing to take the apprentice mindset would lead to danger. With the apprentice frame of mind, I understand that I need to gather as much information as possible from my key sources to make good decisions.
“Without the right information, a leader could either suffer from indecision, or worse, make bad decisions. And, clearly, making bad decisions is the most basic way to ruin your credibility.
“One example of how the apprentice mindset led me to the correct decision came in early 2001, when we acquired Labtec, a manufacturer of peripherals that were complementary to our own product offerings. By all accounts—unlike the vast majority of acquisitions—it’s been a very successful merger. But initially, I wasn’t so sure about it. I looked at the business and the products, and I wasn’t convinced of the value of the asset on paper.
“Shortly before the deal was struck, we had a meeting with some key members of their leadership team. When I met their team and listened to them articulate their vision, my impression changed dramatically. The soft value of the acquisition—the human value—was tremendous.
“As an apprentice, I’m able to gain collective knowledge and experience from our new colleagues. In many acquisitions—often failures— the acquired companies are forced to conform to the parents’ ways. In this case, we saw the value of Labtec’s engineering, processes, and leadership. Not only have the pieces been successfully integrated, Labtec has helped redefine and enhance the Logitech culture. And it was a success only because of the Labtec people.
“I won’t ever make an acquisition or transaction without understanding the people. I could fall in love with a business that might not look as good on paper but has good people. And I might avoid an opportunity that is a hot deal if it doesn’t have the people that could help define the Logitech of the future—and help further my apprenticeship. “It also helps, as CEO, to have the hands-in-the-dirt experience that gives you more credibility. People sometimes ask if, at Logitech, I have to be a techie for some of our techie employees to respect me. Having started in this business as an engineer, a technologist, I may have more credibility with our engineering teams and our product marketers. Understanding how all of the proverbial cogs and gears work together is as important in my role as understanding my responsibility to our investors as a public company.
“Fundamentally, Logitech is and always will be a product company. And, as CEO, I have to be the ultimate marketer both to my internal team and to external audiences. I’ve always believed that some of the best technology marketers are engineers by trade.
“A good leader is also a good communicator. An apprentice asks the right questions and knows how to listen. Logitech is an interface company—we make products that are the touch points to connect humankind and the digital world. As a management team, we understand that how we interface with each other shapes our vision and determines how successful we will be in creating great products.
“Part of being a good communicator and a good leader is acting in a manner consistent with what’s communicated. As a CEO, I preach. As an apprentice, I practice. As a leader, I practice what I preach. I hold myself accountable and I expect accountability from those around me.
“As a CEO or an executive of any kind, one is never done learning. I watch the different people around me to see how they lead, and to see how I can learn from them. I’m absolutely obsessed by sucking in their good traits and rejecting the bad ones.
“In my career, I’ve had good bosses and bad bosses. And I’ve learned a lot from both. I’ve watched how not to do things from the bad bosses. The key is to maintain a high level of intellectual honesty and skepticism. I never discount anything entirely, and at the same time, I try not to drink the Kool-Aid when everything seems rosy. With that kind of skeptical mindset there is so much that can be learned every day.
“Finally, I believe a key trait for successful leaders is their ability to detect their environment and to apply their brain, their experience, and their personality to that specific context. Success and failure will be determined by how they meld with their surroundings. Successful leaders have the innate ability to perceive their environment and the needs of all of those entrenched alongside of them. That’s because they are always listening, and always learning. Just like an apprentice.”