Welcome to yet another edition, chief!

In today’s edition — What makes some leaders timeless? A latest book, ‘A CEO for All Seasons’, by McKinsey partners, which interviews CEOs such as Satya Nadella and Michael Dell, finds it’s not charisma or confidence. It’s more about curiosity, courage and even more importantly being humble. These are the traits that make them top corporate leaders.

How Great Leaders Get It Right

Vishwas Ved

Every workplace has a leader everyone respects and admires. 

For some reason, this person seems calm even when things fall apart, asks sharp questions instead of giving long lectures, and somehow makes the toughest of decisions feel fair and acceptable. A perfect object of envy.

What makes such leaders different? Are they just born that way? Or do they learn to be a better leader over time?

Turns out, it’s the latter. 

A McKinsey book released this month, A CEO for All Seasons, goes deeper into what makes the world’s top 200 chief executives truly iconic.

The authors spoke to legends like Michael Dell, Stephen Schwarzman (Blackstone), Ken Frazier (Merck), and Satya Nadella to find out what makes them different.

The authors didn’t stumble upon some superhuman traits. It was far more simple — humility, curiosity, and of course a deep understanding of people.

The Real Difference

The best leaders, according to the findings, don’t pretend to have all the answers. 

Carolyn Dewar, one of the authors, said on a podcast that she expected these CEOs to sound like know-it-alls, but to her surprise, they didn’t. 

Instead, they asked questions, and took feedback. In fact, they were even willing to be wrong. That humility, Dewar said, was their biggest strength.

Scott Keller, another co-author, said he was surprised to find that top leaders actually take longer to decide because they make others part of the process. 

This simple thing makes people feel seen and valued, and that’s what drives performance. 

Nadella’s Satya Vachan 

Satya Nadella says one of the biggest issues people at the top face is the information problem.

As a CEO or a CFO, you get to see the full picture. You know what’s happening inside the company, what investors expect, what regulators demand, and what your employees expect. 

That’s the “information problem” Nadella talks about. The curse of knowing more than anyone else, and worse, you can’t always share everything. 

Your job, Nadella says, is to connect all those dots in order to make sense of messy and contradictory information and turn it into a clear direction. It’s tough because most people do not see the trade-offs you make.

The authors conclude that the superior ability to balance the information overload without upsetting any stakeholder is what makes a great leader.

Kindness Overload

The authors also found that great leaders mix confidence with kindness. They hold strong opinions but stay open to new ones. 

Ken Frazier, for example, said his sense of humility came from his father, a janitor who “stood ten feet tall” in his eyes. 

Similarly, Gail Boudreaux, CEO of Elevance Health, admitted that leadership can feel lonely because though you’re part of the team, you’re also the one coaching it. 

The most interesting take came from Michael Fisher of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, who said he makes a “to-be list” every morning. Not what to do, but what to be — humble, patient, curious. 

Final Words

As they say, it’s hard to come in contact with brilliance and stay average. The same happened with the authors as well. They said on the podcast that they’ve changed too.

One now says no to meetings that don’t matter. Another spends more time thinking about culture and people, not just numbers. 

So, what do the world’s best leaders really get right? 

One, they never stop learning. They listen before they lead. They know they have the power, but they exert it only to build trust. 

Whether you’re a CFO managing tight budgets or a team lead managing five people, the lesson is the same: leadership is all about staying curious. But more than that, it’s about staying kind.

₹45,000

That’s the amount Hyundai Motor India Ltd will invest by FY30, aiming to make India its second-largest region globally. The company has also set a target of up to 30% export contribution. The company aims to increase its revenues by 1.5 times and cross the ₹1 trillion milestone by FY2030 under its 2030 growth roadmap. Under the roadmap, the company plans 26 product launches by FY2030, including seven new nameplates, marking its entry into the MPV and off-road SUV segments.

—Soon, erotica for adults on ChatGPT. OpenAI plans to allow a wider range of content, including erotica, on its popular chatbot ChatGPT as part of its push to "treat adult users like adults", says its boss Sam Altman. In a post on X this week, Altman said upcoming versions of the popular chatbot would enable it to behave in a more human-like way - "but only if you want it, not because we are usage maxxing". The move, reminiscent of Elon Musk's xAI recent introduction of two sexually explicit chatbots to Grok, could help OpenAI attract more paying subscribers.

—Microsoft drops support for Windows 10. There is a big change coming for many people who use Windows computers. Microsoft is ending support for its Windows 10 operating system, which means that after Tuesday 14 October, these computers may be at risk. This is because security updates will stop, making devices more vulnerable to attack. Microsoft is encouraging people to upgrade for free to Windows 11 - but not all computers will be able to do that. Windows is the world's most popular computer operating system, with Microsoft saying it is used on over 1.4 billion devices around the globe. Around 43% of these were using Windows 10 in July 2025. 

—Andamans saw 200% rise in domestic tourism. Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lieutenant Governor Admiral D K Joshi has said tourism in the archipelago witnessed a massive surge in post-Covid years. Addressing a tourism conclave at Udaipur in Rajasthan on Tuesday, the Lt. Governor said there has been a post-Covid tourism resurgence in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with domestic arrivals rising nearly 200% and international tourists up 157% since 2022.

—Nestlé is cutting 16,000 jobs due partly to automation.  Nestlé will cut around 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years as it works to slash costs, including through automation, the world’s largest food company said this week. Most of the layoffs – about 12,000 – will affect white-collar professionals as Nestlé targets “operational efficiency,” including by automating processes and using shared services, the company said. Another 4,000 roles will go in manufacturing and the supply chain as part of measures to improve productivity. The overall job cuts will amount to almost 6% of Nestlé’s workforce. 

ICYMI | Poison as Syrup, Predator as Doctor

Missed last week's update? The recent tragedy involving a deadly cough syrup that killed several children is yet another reminder of how little we value a human life. Quality checks in India are more bureaucratic than scientific. But if you think this happens only in India, we introduce you to an investigative report about European doctors — some of them convicted of sexual assault — thriving in another country because there is no common system that flags them. 

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