What does it mean to be a chief executive? Rio Tinto chief Sam Walsh landed in the top job as the fix-it man. Pressing the reset button on a company that he says had "lost its way" led to his own "leadership metamorphosis". 
Speaking to a room of aspiring future big shots at Harvard University late on Tuesday, these are five of the leadership lessons he gave:
1) Speed is critical, make tough calls early

On assuming the helm in January 2013, Walsh knew speed of execution was critical and to get staff in line, he needed to develop momentum and "a true sense of urgency and purpose".

He set three core priorities for the business: to improve performance, strengthen the balance sheet and to deliver results. He wanted Rio to be known for its cash generation and increase in shareholder returns

In the early days, he says the chairman said to him, "Sam, you seem to be in an enormous hurry". Walsh replied that "Well, yes I am. It's not a time to muck around".  

And as for the tough calls, "sometimes the options are not options, only painful reality".

He had to "restructure his executive team, merge business units together, close or mothball facilities and divest businesses which meant some very hard decisions and employment reductions at both executive and operational levels". Since Walsh took over, there have been cuts to more than half of the staff at corporate headquarters.

He says he learnt about tough decisions as a young manager leading the restructure of General Motors in Australia. He recommended the closure of five plants and the laying off of 10,000 people. 

David Fuller's view

Governance is everything, as we never tire of saying at Fuller Treacy Money, not least in a highly cyclical industry where disaster can too easily be a significant downturn away.  Clearly, Sam Walsh is a wise, tough old Aussie bird, albeit only 65.  As a shareholder I had been concerned about the company when his predecessor Tom Albanese was CEO.   

Rio Tinto ‘Well Positioned’ for a Tough 2016, says CEO.  Here is a very informative well conducted Video of Bloomberg’s interview with Sam Walsh.