Assessing the strategic levers in the discourse of best-performing CEOs: a three-dimensional model

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to assess the patterns in the public discourse of successful chief executive officers (CEOs) in terms of performance, with the CEO's strengths and aspects to improve.Design/methodology/approachThis paper aligns with the literature that appraises CEO public discourse and relevance. From the literature review, the strategic levers in CEO discourse toward high performance are identified. The CEO letters in the period 2017–2019 of the top 25 best performing CEOs (BPCs) according to Harvard Business Review ranking 2019 are qualitatively examined through a multiple close reading analytical technique and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) is applied to assess the patterns.FindingsThe paper delivers a three-dimensional model representing how the identified strategic levers are articulated by BPCs in the BPC's discourse following diverse patterns. This paper points out BPC's strengths, among them a high level of moral reasoning compared to previous studies and improvable areas such as the extended absence of autocritique at the firm and personal level or the lack of leverage on the need for agility and proactive adaption.Practical implicationsThis paper contributes further CEO awareness of the strategic role of the discourse and offers clues to enhance CEO awareness, as well as criteria for boards of directors to appraise CEO discourse.Originality/valueAdopting a novel approach, this paper addresses the strategic levers triggered by CEOs in their letters from a managerial implication perspective, providing relevant theoretical insight on how they are articulated.