CEO Dad: How to Avoid Getting Fired by Your Family [Hardcover]

Tom Stern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2007

Dave Barry meets Dilbert in the outrageous world of Tom Stern's CEO Dad. From the comedic suspense of a well-executed takeover of his employees to the personal humiliation of being fired by his family on TV, Stern delivers a humorous business book that is packed with dozens of spot-on cartoons that illustrate the serious real-life conflicts that business executives everywhere have with the people they love and offers the chance for every CEO Dad and Mom to find a way to laugh all the way back to work-life sanity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Both business libraries and general-interest collections will find it a funny, compelling title. -- California Bookwatch, June 2007

If you're looking for help on losing the CEO Dad-itude before you lose your family, then pick up a copy of "CEO Dad" and carefully read between the lines. There really is a lesson here. -- Finance and Commerce, August 22, 2007

That realistic accounting is good for everyone, not just execs. We all need people who help "keep it real." -- The Kansis City Star, May 6, 2007

From the Publisher

When you are a dyslexic, hyper-active adolescent--and the son of a powerful CEO--what are the chances of becoming anything but a narcissistic, control-freak CEO yourself? A sure bet--unless you take the "cure" laid out with sardonic humor and razor-sharp wit in CEO DAD.

From the outrageous world of Tom Stern comes this cautionary tale of one powerful CEO's struggle to break free from the chains binding him to the ladder-climbing rat race that defines business success. Growing up in the shadows of a super-successful CEO Dad himself, Stern delivers a humorous business book packed with dozens of spot-on cartoons--taken from his syndicated CEO Dad comic strip--that offer a light-hearted yet serious look into the real-life conflicts business executives have with the people they love.

Inspired by Stern's own journey, CEO DAD is a harrowing account of denial, therapy, and redemption that digs into the sordid details: power-grabbing, bullying, and idiotic antics that alienate employees and clients, treating his children like business proteges, being abandoned by his therapist, and, ultimately, fired by his family on reality TV. The road to recovery is filled with bumps, ego-bruising messes, and a 10-1/2-step program as CEO DAD chronicles a wild ride through the turbulent waters of work-life balance.

With penetrating insight and comedic timing, CEO DAD offers life-transforming lessons for CEO Dads and Moms everywhere who are ready to adjust their "I think, therefore I'm right" mindset--the cornerstone of the "CEO Dad-itude" that leaves its own toxic legacy.

"Tom Stern manages to put the 'fun' into 'dysfunctional' in this hilarious account of his transformation from an aggressive, self-absorbed, work-obsessed smart-aleck into a kinder, somewhat gentler wiseacre--emphasis on wise. If you or a CEO Dad need help prioritizing, make this book a priority." Ann Pleshette Murphy, parenting contributor to Good Morning America; author of "The 7 Stages of Motherhood"

"Tom Stern's genius is his ability to show the funny side of a very real problem afflicting America: how to succeed in business without screwing up your family. And while many of the situations he describes are breathtakingly dysfunctional, if not downright improbably, they will seem very real to the families to today's overachievers." Charles S. Dubow, director of new products, Business Week Online

"I have always held that the world of work is endlessly ripe for satire, ridicule, and laughter. What we have lacked is someone willing to make this a full-time job--a kind of 'court jester' who delights in telling the king the truth, week in and week out. But now, at long last, we have found this person in Tom Stern, for whom yesterday's king is today's CEO Dad. Bravo, Tom! Bravo, Bravo! May you live a very long life." Dick Bolles, best-selling author, "What Color Is Your Parachute? 2007"

"CEO DAD is the Microsoft of business comic strips!" Jim Impoco, former business editor, New York Times Sunday

"Relentlessly laugh-out-loud funny, Tom Stern has written a very wise book. As with all great humorists, Stern has something important to say: what is really meaningful often gets obscured by ego and avarice. Brilliantly conceived and delivered." Greg Feldman, chairman and CEO, Wellspring Capital

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Davies-Black Publishing (April 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891062254
• ISBN-13: 978-0891062257
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,892,943 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, compelling title., June 17, 2007

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CEO Dad: How to Avoid Getting Fired by Your Family (Hardcover)

CEO DAD: HOW TO AVOID GETTING FIRED BY YOUR FAMILY uses a funny, cautionary tale to tell of one CEO's struggle to break free of the corporate world. It comes from a businessman and humorist who recounts a harried life alienating employees and potential clients and even his own family before turning his life around and includes dozens of fun cartoons which take a poke at modern business executives and their fast-paced, often skewed worlds. Both business libraries and general-interest collections will find it a funny, compelling title.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch