Business Execs Get Lessons In LeadershipBusiness Execs Get Lessons In Leadership

Some of the world's best-known business leaders gathered in New York on Monday to discuss the principles of leadership.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told a World Business Forum audience of 4,500 at Radio City Music Hall that great leaders possess six key characteristics: First and foremost, he said, they must have a philosophy and not just be guided by public-opinion polls. They must also be optimists. "People are drawn to solutions to their problems," he said.

In addition, he said, they must have courage and must relentlessly prepare. Finally, they must have the ability to communicate.

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric Co. who's known for his passion for developing people, told the attendees that he's surprised at how little attention is paid to succession planning. "It's a failure of management and accountability not to have a CEO in place," he said in response to the trend that has seen many companies turn to retired executives to come back to the business and lead their companies, rather than developing potential CEOs from within. "Strategy is about getting good leaders first and strategy second," he said.

What separates leaders of good companies from those of great companies? To Stanford University professor and author Jim Collins, it's humility, will, and ambition for the work, not for themselves. These executives are considered "Level 5" leaders in Collins' hierarchy of leadership. Getting to this level, he said, is a "long and arduous process." But, he added, "the problem is not a lack of Level 5 leaders, but a lack of Level 5 leaders at the top."

The conference continues Tuesday, when the speakers will include former President Bill Clinton and former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner.