> In other words, it may be easier to change the CEO than the CEO's mind. (A possibly useful criterion: when did the CEO last admit a mistake? If the answer is

> In other words, it may be easier to change the CEO than the CEO's mind. (A possibly useful criterion: when did the CEO last admit a mistake? If the answer is "never", and reality indicates the need for a change of direction, the CEO has to go.) Another possible reason is that it may be politically difficult for the incumbent CEO to do the hard thing, but an incoming CEO (especially if he is from the outside and therefore has not accumulated a web of obligations) can do something like lay off a fifth of the company more easily. There are turnaround CEOs that have made a career of being the doer of unpopular things.