The CEO hires, fires, and leads the senior management team. They, in turn, hire, fire, and lead the rest of the organization. The CEO must be able to hire and fire non-performers. She must resolve differences between senior team members, and keep them working together in a common direction. She sets direction by communicating the strategy and vision of where the company is going.
Strategy sets a direction.
With clear direction, the team can rally together and make it happen. Don't underestimate the power of setting direction. In 1991, at Intuit's new employee orientation, CEO Scott Cook presented his vision of Intuit as the center of computerized personal finance. Intuit had just 120 employees and one product. Ten years later, it's a billion-dollar company with thousands of employees and dozens of products.