Every successful CEO cultivates habits and routines that infuse discipline into their daily schedules and allow them to perform at their best. While all chief executives must constantly juggle six core responsibilities (exhibit), how they prioritize them depends on a complex interplay between the business context and the CEO’s unique capabilities and preferences. How they cope with the pressures is also deeply personal. We asked more than 100 leaders of companies around the world (the majority from Asia)1 who have participated in McKinsey’s Center for CEO Excellence programs to share the everyday routines that most contribute to their effectiveness in the role. We also leaned on interviews conducted for the recent McKinsey book CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.2
