Benjamin Sisko, Chairman of the Board?

As the fourth post in a series investigating which Star Trek captain would make the best CEO of a company, we are looking at Captain Benjamin Sisko of the space station, Deep Space Nine.

Unlike his Star Trek predecessors, James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko is not widely-known.  His series, Deep Space Nine, did not follow in the footsteps of TOS and TNG, but was a spin-off of TNG. Instead of being on a starship, the action takes place aboard a space station orbiting Bajoran, which had formerly been under Cardassian rule, but had come under the joint administration of the Federation and the Bajoran Provisional Government. The station maintains a Star Fleet flavor, but its occupants are primarily civilians.  In a nutshell, DS9 is most reminiscent of an international airport, with its constant influx of travelers, shops, and bar. Star Trek enthusiasts either loved the series- or hated it.

The unique dynamics of the series actually gives us a better idea of how its leader, Captain Benjamin Sisko, would perform in a corporate world since his character must deal with a lot of the elements of running a company. We see Sisko dealing with mergers (as he works through the difficulties of merging Bajoran and Star Fleet staff), public relations (between the Federation and dozens of species), and even the occasional attempt at a hostile takeover ( as in "Invasion Procedures").  Through these events, Sisko proves his ability as a corporate leader.

But what of the man himself?  In the series, Sisko proves himself firm, but fair.  He holds others to a high level of excellence, but uses the same yardstick for himself.  Like Kirk and Picard, his fellow Star Fleet officers follow him willingly, but Sisko is also able to inspire a following among the civilians on the station; who look up to him as a leader; and, among the Bajoran, even as a spiritual emissary. Though a warm and loving father, that persona does not bleed over into his leadership style.  Rather, Sisko is more of a take-no-crap captain who expects you to get the job done and doesn't want to hear about your personal problems.

Though Sisko inspires a confidence in his ability to lead, he just doesn't seem to inspire the affection that Kirk does or the engender loyalty as Picard does. This seems evident in the fact that his character is one of the least favorite of the captains, even though he is often characterized as the most realistic of the group.  And since we are talking about how Sisko would perform in the real world, we can be certain that he would successfully captain any company just as satisfactorily as he captained Deep Space Nine.