Six from the best: advice for future leaders, in The Times

In more than 25 years as a global chief executive, including at KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, Dane Hudson has led teams through crises — from death threats and multimillion-dollar losses. As the author of Discipline Beats Vision, here’s his advice for future leaders.

The Times ran these six rules on its Business Recruitment page on 11 September 2026, beside its feature on careers in packaging. They are Dane’s words as printed.

1. Your leadership shadow is always on. Everything you do sends a signal: how you react to bad news, whether you are smiling when you walk in. Your team is watching and reacting.
2. Being a CEO is not a solo sport. Think beyond your work team. Make your life partner a true partner in life, and find people who only have your interest at heart — a mentor, a peer group.
3. Be a student of leadership. AI is changing the world. The more that happens, the more your leadership is your only true edge. Machines cannot build trust or accountability, or inspire a team.
4. Your values are the foundation of your culture, but can you remember them? Thirty per cent of CEOs I mentor cannot. If they can’t, their team can’t. Make values memorable.
5. Know what your board actually prioritises. CEOs think about performance first, then compliance and risk. Boards do the opposite. They’ll forgive underperformance before a lack of transparency.
6. If you are not enjoying it, leave. No CEO enjoys every day. But if the role has stopped energising you, your team already knows. The title is not worth more than joy.

The full page, including Jane Hamilton’s feature, is on thetimes.com (subscribers).

First published in The Times. Read it there →