For New Polaris CEO, Baptism by Fire

BY JOANN S. LUBLIN

MEDINA, Minn. -- Two weeks after Scott W. Wine became chief executive of Polaris Industries Inc. here on Sept. 2, he crashed one of its latest off-road recreational vehicles into a tree on a woodsy test trail.

The mishap bloodied Mr. Wine's lip and destroyed the $14,000 vehicle. "I was driving beyond my ability," admits the 41-year-old Naval Academy graduate with a boyish grin. "You have to expect the unexpected."

That has become an essential skill for the first-time CEO. Navigating a tough economy is difficult for any chief executive, but it's particularly rocky for a novice. Mr. Wine has ...