Fresh Eyes

One of the best opportunities a new employee presents, at least for a while, is a pair of "fresh eyes" to look at your company while their previous employment is fresh in their mind and before they become inculcated into your prevailing culture. An even better opportunity is when a former employer returns. To wit: the late Steve Jobs.

You'll recall that in 1985 Steve Jobs was fired from the company he founded. He returned as CEO to Apple in 1997 and introduced a string of ground-breaking products including the ipod and iphone. Jobs made dramatic changes almost immediately upon his return. Click here to check out this 1997 video where he addresses the employees about what he had done, and why after three weeks back at the helm and the mindset change that he dubbed "Think Different" that catalyzed the company's amazing success since.

It may not be practical to fire yourself, which is one reason why some CEOs take Sabbaticals for a few months. In some cases, this enables them to look at the company at least with "fresher" eyes upon their return.