Customer Reviews

Executive Suite

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Cameron Hawley's "Executive Suite" is an exciting novel about what it really takes to succeed in business.

The businessman is usually presented in fiction as a rapacious looter who will do anything, no matter how criminal, to satisfy his lust for money. Success in business, according to this stereotype, goes to the one who combines the most intelligence with the least scruples. "Executive Suite" is remarkable in that it presents an utterly different view of businessmen and of success in business. Business is presented as an admirable pursuit of honorable men. Success in business does not come from lust for money and power, but from the posession of a creative vision. It is the businessman with a love for his work, and a vision of what it could be, who has the drive and passion to be a success. This view of business is central to "Executive Suite" and the development and resolution of the plot are dictated by it.

The story follows the struggle to select a new president of a furniture company after the company's president dies suddenly. Each of the contenders represents a different view of what matters in business. The struggle between these men is a contest between these views. And the man who ultimately wins, wins by convincing the others that his view is right.

Cameron Hawley was a business executive for many years before he became a novelist. With this book he does right by both of his professions.

Hawley follows the exploits of several businessman at a top company and the aftermath of their leader's death. The power struggles, personal ambitions, and future of these men are brought to life most vividly. A good period piece of 1950s business.

Although the setting in the 1950s (my guess is 1951 since it matches that calendar), the passion for the good of the company, its employees, and legacy extends beyond just the financial "bottom line" of success. This book portrays that well. It's refreshing as well as a reminder that such approach can still hold true in corporations of the 21st century. Both the movie of the same name and the book are worth seeing and reading.

If there was any downside in the book it's that the author dwells a bit too long on the past -- a background story on nearly all of the characters in the story. The climax of the story however is worth the wait. Going to work may not be the same anymore.

An engrossing story about how business operates, the talents needed to run a successful business, and the suspense and difficulty that ensue when the head of the company suddenly dies. Portrays the multiple talents necessary to run a business: intellectual, artistic, analytic, etc. There should be more such stories to show people the honor of business and capitalism.