New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Governor Chris Christie, R-N.J., was re-elected as New Jersey governor in a landslide victory last night. His crossover appeal to independents and Democrats has lessons for CEOs. An article in Business Insider titled DEAR REPUBLICANS: Here’s How To Not Be Hated By Minority Voters listed four reasons for his popularity: “They like and trust him personally; they appreciate his ability to forge bipartisan compromises; they think he did a good job handling Hurricane Sandy recovery; and they feel he has been available and treated their local governments well.”

These testaments to Christie’s character match up with what I believe are the keys to any CEO’s success: Demonstrable credibility, competence and caring. They form the foundation of the three-legged stool upon which a CEO can build a successful organization. Take just one away and the chief executive cannot be effective.