Useem says large corporations and organizations --and Bush will be running the granddaddy of them all --are too complex for one person.He says Bush would be wise to follow the lead of CEOs John Chambers of Cisco Systems and Lou Gerstner of IBM,who are known for being hands-off.They set measures of accountability,then get out of the way.

Academic research shows that corporate success is more likely to come from 10talented officers with a weaker CEO than from a genius CEO with weak lieutenants,Useem says.Bush's success,therefore,probably rides less on Bush than on the crucial 10members of his Cabinet and staff,he says.

But pressure-packed decisions will ultimately fall on Bush,and it's impossible to know how he will handle them.His toughest business days were during the 1980s,when wildcat drilling produced about nine dry holes for every good well.

Oil prices were depressed.Bush often had to tell investors that his company had lost them a small fortune and worry about how to pay his small staff.

"We were under a lot of stress,trying to make sure the company survived,"says Michael Conaway,a certified public accountant in Midland,Texas,who was Bush's chief financial officer for five years.But he says it never showed on Bush.

Running a small oil company has little in common with running the world's only superpower.But former Bush employees say they doubt he will change much.

"He's not one who broods over decisions,"Schieffer says."He gets information,makes a decision and goes on."