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　　source：dailyresearch
　　Researchshowsthatthebehaviourofbusinessleaderscouldbedirectlylinkedtotheirexperiencesinchildhood。
　　Whatmakesagreatleader？Effectiveness？Experience？Volcanoes？Itmightseemunlikely，butnewresearchfromateamofacademics，includingRaghavendraRau，SirEvelyndeRothschildProfessorofFinanceatCambridgeJudgeBusinessSchool，suggeststhatexperiencinganaturaldisasteratfirsthandduringyourearlychildhoodcanhaveaprofoundimpactonyourstrategicandtacticaldecisionsinlaterlife。
　　TheteamstudiedtheimpactofnaturaldisastersonleadingCEOsand，remarkably，foundthatthosewhoexperiencedanumberofmoderatedisastersactuallyhadagreaterappetiteforrisktakingthanthosewhohadexperiencednone（unsurprisingly，thosewhoexperiencedthemostextremenaturaldisastersweremostriskaverse）。Italsofoundthattheyweremorelikelytotakeonmoreriskinresponsetoathreattothebusiness。
　　BecausetheseCEOshavebeendesensitisedtorisktheymayunderestimatetheprobabilityorcostsofadisaster
　　RaghavendraRau
　　Buthowdoyouworkoutwhohasexperienceddisasterandwhattheimpactmightbe？Rauandhiscolleagues，GennaroBernileandVineetBhagwat，cameupwithaningenioussolution。TheyconstructedadatabaseofcountylevelnaturaldisastersaffectingtheUSbetween1910and2010，includingearthquakes，volcaniceruptions，tsunamis，hurricanes，tornadoes，severestorms，floods，landslidesandwildfires。Theythenusedthisdatatoworkouttheextenttowhichthe1，711CEOsinthesurveywerelikelytohavebeenaffectedbythesedisastersbetweentheagesoffiveand15，basedonthelocationandyearoftheCEO’sbirthandthestateinwhichtheyreceivedtheirsocialsecuritynumbers（usuallyallocatedduringteenageyears）。Theteamincludedcontrolsfortheaveragedisasterfatalityriskandnondisastergeographiccharacteristics，suchaseconomicconditions，crimeratesandthequalityofeducation。
　　TheCEOs，whowereallUSbornandwhoservedinSamp；amp；P1500firmsbetween1992and2012，werethengroupedintothreecategories：thoseexposedtoextremelynegativeeffectsofnaturaldisastersduringtheirformativeyears；thosewhoexperiencedonlymediumeffectsofsuchdisasters；andthosewhowerenotexposedtodisastersatall。TheythenexaminedtheeffectofCEOriskpreferencesonfinancialleverage，cashholdings，stockvolatility，acquisitivenessandtheCEO’sowncompensationstructure。
　　Andtheresultswerestriking。FirmsrunbyCEOsfromthemediumgroupshoweda3higherleverageratiothanfirmsrunbyCEOswhoexperiencednofataldisasters；and4。4higherthanfirmsledbyCEOswhohadexperiencedthemostextremenegativeeffectsofdisasters。
　　Firmsmanagedbytheseriskloving，mediumexposureCEOsalsoheld0。9lesscashasapercentageofbookassetsthanthosenotexposedtodisaster，whilethoseledbyCEOsexposedtoextremelynegativeeffectsofdisasterheld0。7morecash。Mediumexposureleadersalsoexperienced0。8higherstockvolatilitycomparedtocompaniesledbyCEOswithextremeexposureorthosewhohadnotexperienceddisasters。
　　MediumexposureCEOswerealso3morelikelytoannounceacorporateacquisitionwhileatthehelm。TheresultswerestrengthenedifaCEOwasparticularlydominantiftheywerealsochairmanorpresidentoftheboardofdirectors。Andfinally，mediumexposureCEOswerealsomorelikelytoacceptfirmspecificriskwithintheircompensationpackages。
　　TheteamalsoexaminedwhathappenedifaCEOwasfacedwithdisasterduringtheirtenure。TheyfoundthatonlyCEOsinthemediumgroupwerelikelytomakesignificantchangestocorporatepoliciesintheaftermath，reducinguseofleverageandincreasingcashholdingsduringthethreeyearsfollowingadisaster。Thosecompaniesalsotendedtoexperiencelessstockvolatilityduringthesameperiod。
　　ThiswouldappeartosuggestthatbecausetheseCEOshavebeendesensitisedtorisktheymayunderestimatetheprobabilityorcostsofadisaster，saysProfessorRau。
　　Heputsthesefindingsintothecontextofresearchelsewherewhichsuggeststhatexposuretonaturaldisasterscanaffectfinancialdecisionmakinginbothindividualsandcompanies。Hebelievesthisworkaddstoagrowingbodyofevidencechallengingtheassumptioninclassicalfinancetheorythatmanagersdon’tmatterasmuchasthefinancialconstraintswithinwhichcompaniesoperate。
　　Heisalsointriguedbyfindingsinmedicalresearchthatbothsupportstheideathatexperiencingadversitycanhavelongtermeffectsonindividuals，andsuggeststhataknownbiologicalphenomenoncoulddrivetheseeffects。Thisiscooption，inwhichtheexperienceofadversecircumstancesortraumacausesphysiologicalalterationsofbraindevelopmentandfunction。
　　ProfessorRaualsohighlightsthefactthatthisresearchdoesnotsimplyshowhowpastexperiencescanaffectfuturebehaviour，butalsothatthewaytheydosoiscomplexandnonlinear。InadditiontosheddinglightonthecausesofheterogeneousCEObehaviours，wehopeourworkwillalsohelpindividualsinotherwalksoflifetoconsiderhowtheirownbackgroundscouldinfluencetheirbehaviour，hesays。Ourresultsmayhaveimplicationsforthegrowingbodyofworkexaminingtheeffectsofinvestors’previouslifeexperiencesoninvestmentstrategyandportfolioallocation。Orinotherwords，itpaystoknowaboutaleader’sexperience，effectivenessandexposuretovolcanoes。