A recurrent theme in the managerial literature surrounds the pitfalls and difficulties encountered when a line manager moves up to a "CXO" level position and must simultaneously shed the comfortable involvement with the day-to-day "transactional" work—something at which, by hypothesis of their promotability, they have been good at—and adopt broad new strategic perspectives.

An intimately associated recurrent theme in the managerial literature is that rivers of ink are spilled on this issue to no avail.   Can, in fact, anything meaningful be said about this, or does it always just boil down to learning on the job, painful as that may be for everyone in sight?

When faced with what seems to be a chronically difficult issue, I often ask myself if some sort of procedural or tactical "crutch" could be introduced that would tend to improve matters over time?  In other words, if the problem does not seem to admit of a frontal assault (as here, where everyone in their right mind knows it's a problem, but people still fail left and right), is there an available flanking maneuver?

A current CIO article has a nice approach, called the "Top Two." 

Devote an inviolately-scheduled time once a week with each of your key direct reports discussing their "top two" issues.  You'll learn what's truly important, and maybe even get an early warning of something truly important that is in danger of running off the rails.

The legendary Washington columnist Walter Lippmann once suggested the President should hold a wide-open news conference once a month, with no pre-set agenda.  Why?  Not so the press could have a stab at the President, but for the far more powerful and insightful reason that it would require all the President's direct reports to figure out exactly where they stood on key issues of the day and articulate their rationale to the President.  Not, as they say, stupid.