Do CEOs Make Good Politicians?

This year’s race for governor of Michigan should have been tailor- made for Richard DeVos, the former CEO of Amway Corp., one of the state’s biggest employers. After all, in Jennifer Granholm he faced an incumbent who had presided over a rise in Michigan’s unemployment rate to 7.2 percent, by far the nation’s worst.

But in an early-October televised debate, Granholm was able to score points against the erstwhile corporate chieftain by pointing out that DeVos as CEO actually had created thousands of low-paying jobs in China— while trimming jobs in Michigan.

Still, Michigan’s pocketbook pain gave DeVos his chance to unseat Granholm. And in general, when CEOs become political candidates they tend to campaign naturally on their grasp of economic and financial issues.

Jack Davis brought his business expertise to bear in his campaigns for the House in New York State’s 26th District, where the founder and owner of the I Squared R Element Co. lost as a Republican in 2004 and ran as a Democrat this year, largely on a trade-protectionist platform.

He also was plying his executive competence. “I know how to control budgets and get people to do what they need to do,” Davis said. “As a chief executive, I’ve been selling myself for years.” But typically, a CEO or former CEO still must offer something else as a candidate besides a managerial air and a strong corporate track record.

Ideally, they should be able to deal comfortably with a variety of constituencies, ranging from clergy members to environmentalists. And they need to be able to engage confidently in cultural discourse, over issues such as abortion and immigration, as well as in money- speak.

“If your only experience was running a company as CEO, you’ll find a rude awakening—because you won’t have the life experiences to be a credible candidate,” said Steve Grossman, CEO of his own marketing company, who ran unsuccessfully for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and served as chairman of the National Democratic Party under President Bill Clinton.

When CEOs win a race, however, then a different dynamic begins to apply: Governing is more like pushing a rope than cracking a whip. “Once you get in office, you have to start to build consensus, and CEOs get startled,” Judith Glaser, executive coach and author of The DNA of Leadership, says.

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