If he wins: Romney brings a CEO mentality to White House

"For those things to happen it's going to require something that Washington talks about, but hasn't done in a long, long time. And that's truly reaching across the aisle," Romney said at a Florida rally last week.

His campaign would not say if his transition team has begun reaching out to Democrats on Capitol Hill. It may be a tough task for a man who has struggled at times to win over even members of his own, fractured party, and, who as Massachusetts governor, had an insular reputation.

Personal relationships aside, aides describe a man who embraces difficult decisions — not that he always makes them quickly. To the dismay of some staffers, he delayed the selection of running mate Paul Ryan, the author of a controversial congressional budget plan, until after he returned from an overseas tour this summer. It was a pick that many aides privately opposed, but publicly embraced after it was finalized.

"Sometimes he'll sleep on a big decision," Fehrnstrom says. "He's not prone to snap judgments. He'll consider all the data."

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