The CEO: Take Charge of Your Destiny: Paul Zeven, CEO of Philips North America

Paul Zeven seemed destined for an international career. When he was three, his father, who worked for an insurance company in Holland, was sent to Venezuela for 14 years. Zeven returned to Holland with his family when he was 17. He completed business school and then served in the Dutch army before joining Philips. During his career, he has lived and worked in 12 countries, including Chile, Brazil, Holland, Singapore, Taiwan, and, currently, the United States.

During a Wharton School session of Philips' Octagon program for high-potential executives, Zeven shared some of the lessons from his long and varied career:

• You are in charge of your own destiny: Zeven's experiences in boarding school and the Dutch army taught him self reliance. "It forced me to be independent," he said. "I learned that the best defender of your interests is yourself. Never forget that. Always be on the ball to take the initiative. Do not wait for career plans to come to you. You have to be proactive in looking for opportunities." At Philips, Zeven set out a 10-year plan for his career, which led to his first international assignments.
  
  
• Share your ambitions with your boss: When you have your 10-year plan, make sure your boss knows about it. "Always tell your boss what your ambitions are," he said. "Otherwise, how will they know to present you with the right opportunities? They might even give you the wrong opportunities. If you share your ambitions, you will at least get on the list for consideration. You should have a first-career scenario and second-career scenario. You are much more in control of your career than you think."
  
  
• Test your leadership: As a 20-year-old reserve officer in the Dutch Army medical corps, Zeven had to test his leadership at an early age. "When you become a leader, you realize it is not because you have stripes," he said. One of his first major assignments at Philips was also an important leadership test. At 29, he was sent to Chile as commercial manager for consumer products. His 4 years as the "green guy" were one of the most productive learning periods of his career. Crises also test leadership. Zeven lived through an earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 and a business crisis in Brazil in 2002. During the earthquake, he learned the importance of over-communicating, internally and externally. In the Brazilian business crisis, the key was to focus the entire organization on three to five key objectives. "Anyone can be a leader when things are going well. Your real leadership skills are tested in crisis situations. Unpleasant situations can be tremendous learning experiences. When you have a tough time, look for the opportunity. I once had a boss who said that for every crisis, there are three opportunities. You have to look for them."
  
  
• Spend half your time with people: One of Zeven's best bosses taught him the principle of spending 50 percent of his time with his people. At first, this seemed like a waste of time because he felt the leader should be producing something, he said. But by spending time with employees, the boss could motivate them to take on tough challenges and then trust them to carry out these challenges. "If you trust people, you have to understand how they react to certain situations, their character strengths and weaknesses," he said. "As a manager, you can also learn a lot from spending time with experienced employees. They always have useful insights and knowledge."  Zeven now practices management by walking around — or, for broader regions, "management by flying around." 
  
  
• Balance work and family: He urged the executives to plan global assignments and work around commitments to family. "You are taking an IOU on your own health — and your health and family are the most important things. Are you there when the kids go to bed? Do you do your e-mail on weekends, or take your son to soccer? If you make your career because you stay in the office late, you are the wrong guy," he said. "It is good to have a diversity of passions. Don't let life lead you. You should lead life."

Above all, you need to be passionate about your work, Zeven said. "You have to like your job. If you don't like your job, change it. Part of my enjoyment is the passion I have for new challenges. I am never more than 4 years in the same job. It is so important to have passion for what you do."

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