Customer Reviews

How to Become CEO: The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organizatio

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Jeffrey Fox has written a book that will please some people immensely, but intensely annoy others. "How to become a CEO" is a short easy to read book. Each chapter is a two-page piece of advice, "crisp, blunt, frank, generally ... judgmental" and very, very easy to digest. I read book in less than half an hour.

Some of the seventy-five pieces of advice are cynical, "Always take the job that offers the most money", and "Make allies of your peers subordinates". Some are puritanical "Don't have a drink with the gang" and "Don't smoke". Some are eccentric "Send hand written notes", and "Go to the library one day a month". And some are good emotional intelligence "Never write a nasty memo" and "Live for today, plan for tomorrow, forget yesterday".

You probably won't agree with all of them, nor agree that all of them are profound. Yet some may strike a cord, or remind you of something you really know but no longer practice. They are written in a style which will appeal to some, but not all. What one might call a "popular magazine type style".

If this is the sort of book you like, then you will like this sort of book. Otherwise, for the sake of your blood pressure, I suggest that you read something else.

I had a hard time rating this book. I gave it a 5 for its dedication to Leigh Knowles, deceased chairman of Beaulieu Vineyards, a truly terrific guy and CEO. I gave it a 1 for having a misleading title. The book has little to do with becoming CEO. I gave it a 4 for generally useful advice about workplace do's and don'ts. I gave it an 7 for marketing. I rounded that to a 4. Decide for yourself what rating to give this book.

I write an article for Chief Executive Magazine each year about the best practices of the most successful CEOs. As part of this work, I have met and interviewed hundreds of the most envied corporate leaders. The subject of how each became CEO and what the lessons are usually comes up. Based on their experiences, you would write a substantially different list than Mr. Fox has provided. Key elements would include learning to do important tasks that the company needs done that no one else is doing; having a great relationship with shareholders and the board of directors; having massive integrity that is frequently demonstrated to others; making and keeping your promises; and establishing an environment in which other people perform very effectively. There's a lot more. If you are interested in more, read my article in the May 1999 issue on The Helpful Habits of the CEO... -- click on the leadership file folder to find the article).

The second problem with this book is that Mr. Fox acknowledges that most CEOs in companies get their jobs by either starting or buying the company. He then goes on to provide no direct advice on how to do either one.

The third problem with the book is that it provides general advice rather than specific advice about you and your own organization. Many of the rules he describes will vary from company to company. In front of many of his pieces of advice should be a first step: Ask the successful people in your company what the right thing to do is. In front of many of his comments about working with others should be a first step of asking the people involved what they would like you to do. The book assumes a communications stalled approach that can lead to backfires in many cases. For example, many people would prefer that you give them immediate verbal feedback along with a pat on the back when they do a good job. They would not be as pleased with a hand-written note, as this book recommends.

The final problem with this book is that it really covers the same subject as How To Be A Star At Work. That is a terrific book, and well worth reading.

If you do decide to read this book, pay the most attention to the advice to set written goals, score yourself on them, and pay attention to the goals. Research has shown that only one percent of people do this, and they usually outperform the 99 percent who do not.

Good luck in your learning of how to become a CEO!

Ignore the "How to Become CEO" portion of the title. Focus just on the byline: "The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization". That is truly what this book is about. Fox has organized this book into 75 nuggets of no-nonsense advice for living your corporate life. Each chapter is an average of 3 pages, and is devoted to backing up one nugget of advice.

I don't believe anything he says is earth shattering, nor do I believe it possible to implement all of his ideas. However, the way each idea was backed up with simple reasoning and examples made it easy to understand the motivation behind it. It also made it easy to determine whether it was applicable to my situation and in many cases, gave examples of how to handle particular situations.

I can speak from my own experience that just implementing two pieces of his advice has positively changed the way that I approach my work environment and the way coworkers and management perceive me. This was well worth the money I spent on this book. There is no doubt in my mind that anyone who is serious in advancing into the ranks of upper management will find a minimum of 3-5 nuggets that help shape their attitudes and habits to attain that goal within this book!

This little book presents seventy-five lessons, or rules, for career success. The vast majority of the rules consists of short musings on people skills. Like most books giving advice on business and career success, the concepts are easily understood, but as always, are difficult to implement. Nonetheless, this guide to becoming the CEO offers a few precious nuggets of wisdom that anyone could use whether or not they have designs on becoming the Big Cheese or sitting in the top spot of any organization.

Several of the rules have relevance far beyond the boardroom. For example, Lesson 27- Don't Hide an Elephant- which deals with the impulse to ignore a festering and looming problem, sounds a lot like what the United States Congress (and more than a few presidential administrations) does on a routine basis. Other rules, such as Lesson 7- Never Write a Nasty Memo- can have painful personal relevance. I have committed the sin of violating this rule, with disastrous consequences. Please, whatever you do, don't break this rule.

From a business standpoint, I believe that lessons two, three and four, which deal with customers, are the most relevant. These three rules should remind you that if you have no customers, then you have no business being in business.

From a personal career advancement standpoint, the best lessons are Rules 40, 43, and 45, which remind us to listen, do our homework well if we want to be paid well, and most important, to communicate clearly and effectively by speaking and writing in plain English.

Managers and executives of all stripes should memorize Lessons 55 and 63 by heart, and live them every day at work. It really does pay to be on the constant lookout for good ideas, but one should never forget that once a good idea is discovered, realizing its potential is critical to success.

On a personal level, I believe everyone can get a lot of mileage out of Lessons 62 and 64. Lesson 62- Become A Member of the Shouldn't Have Club- contains a lot of truth. Though you may lament doing some things, they are often necessary to do in order to achieve a higher purpose. I can attest to the truth of the author's words from personal experience, `Each time you admonish yourself with "Gee, I shouldn't have done that', there will be ten other times when the results will prove that you should have.'

However, Lesson 64- Record Your Mistakes with Care and Pride- is probably the most difficult lesson for all. Many advise us not to live in the past and not to obsess over failures and mistakes. However, we can learn more from our mis-steps than from our successes, and we can use failure to grow and become better people. Granted, this hard to imagine when one is failing or has failed, but in retrospect, it can be a powerful learning tool if used.

As an aside, Lesson 51- Stay Out of Office Politics- is an insightful and brilliant analysis of too many workplaces. Setting rife with politicking signal for all to see that no matter how beneficial the work or activity may be, they do not count for anything in that particular environment. To escape this pernicious hell, simply prove your worth and demonstrate your ability by working, and soon enough, someone will tap you for a spot in a setting where your work, effort and results do count for something.

I personally liked Lesson 34- Go to the Library Once a Month- as it warms my heart. The public library is a wonderful institution, and contrary to what the generals, spooks, and politicians say, is the most vital asset to our national security, and as such deserves our continued and unhesitating support.

This book makes an excellent gift for someone just beginning a career. I have a niece who is just starting out, and I think I will pass along a copy to her. It just may prove to be one investment that pays dividends now and later.

This book is just a hash-up of "what-not-to-do"s. You may increase your chances of promotion but spare a thought for the company!

Ethics and managerial behaviour which is based on strong values will produce a better CEO than one who merely reads this book or thinks that this book holds the key. Whatever happened to real managerial expertise, proper corporate governance, strategic planning/implementation and new business models? In my opinion, this book describes and values political behaviour which actually causes the problems that companies face. I am afraid this book is out-of-date in a world that is changing so fast.

An example: the author advises you to say yes to your supervisor's every request, even if he asks you to water the plants! Shows what type of thinking the author is using.

Read it only if you want to know what goes on in the heads of the people who destroy a company. Read the book if you want to get ahead but don't let anyone see you reading it.

To become a CEO, I think you'll need more than what is in this book. There are some interesting tidbits here and there, but a CEO will not emerge once this book is read.

Has Mr. Fox ever traveled on business? Some of his advice (don't have a drink with coworkers, work instead in your hotel room, order room service, etc.) could be a slap in the face to the salespeople/customers/coworkers who are hosting your trip.

After reading this book, it would seem anyone could make up a few lists and publish a book about anything, and not really have to be a writer. There are some interesting parts of this small book, and I would still recommend reading it and reading it periodically again and again to get the most out of it, but wait for the paperback version.

As you probably know that this book is filled with tips/suggestions to make it to the top. Here are some of his tips:
* Get and keep customers for your company
* Make one good ally in your company every month
* Avoid staff jobs, seek line jobs
* Find companies inner circle, why are that inner circle, determine necessary credentials and get in there
* Work on projects that are visible or pet projects of sernior people. Ask people what are big problems are. Think it through, work on solutions, test them. Write up your proposals, and get proper distribution of your ideas.

|-POSITIVE-|
1. Easy to read and straight to the point
2. As I read, I saw where I was making mistakes in my past jobs and I saw his advice in others success.
3. A lot of it is common sense but that common sense lots of time is forget, great reminder, it is short so its easy to flip through the book for a nice reminder.
4. He offers tips not only what to do inside the business, but also what do with in your personal life, because that's where it starts. He even offers other books to read.
5. it contains that kind of information that I for sure will reread from time to time.

|-NEGATIVE-|
I can't think of negative, except maybe that a lot of it is common sense but even common sense is needed to make it to the top.

This book doesn't tell you how to become CEO, but it does give a hanful of rules - some useful, some not so useful - for behaving in a large corporate environment. A lot of those tips don't really seem to apply for small internet companies (often one and the same). One theme in particular that doesn't fit in the small office environment is taking the idea that "CEOs should be distant" and taking that to mean "you should act distant, even if you're not a CEO."

A lot of the rules, or tips really, that Fox presents are the sort of thing my Dad (who worked in a large corporation) kept telling me as a young man. He really enjoyed reading the book, since it was a sort of 3rd party validation. On the other hand, for someone without that background who graduates school and finds themselves working for a large company, this would be VERY useful.

Some of the tips in the book focus on the theme of maintaining distance, because of the notion that CEOs are expected to *be* distant. The CEOs of small companies that I have worked with are definitely *not* like that. Small companies often have a culture more like a family or fraternity, and when someone remains distant, that's a negative, not a positive. One tip, for instance, is not to go running with "the noontime crowd," and instead run before work. If people know that you run, but you for some reason won't run with them... this doesn't gain you the respect of your peers... it instead convinces them you're a jerk. Better not to run at all!

Simple and written in command format, this book could easily be distilled into a few useful points for anyone's individual taste. The book focuses on creating work habits and work culture avoidance. The author has some unusual advice, like "never go to an office party." There are interesting points, several are creative, but the author does not present evidence that these commands are followed by CEO's of major corporations. This book is essentially a lengthy magazine article of tips and hints.

Some very sound and basic common sense that is well organized.
But, some of the rules are a bit pathetic even for a Harvard MBA grad.
Do not drink, do not drink with co-workers, do not attend office parties unless with your mate and so on would never work in Europe nor in many other countries.
Maybe this advice is stricktly for Americans? It is useful when dealing with Americans but I must say, if this is the common thinking of today, then I rather doubt readers will emerge ahead of the pack in the future.
Make no enemies? Remove any backbone first please!
I am afraid that those who succeed take risks and do make enemies as well as unpopular comments, statements and write letters with negative comments.
To avoid this may be politically correct but will never amount to good decision making.
As I stated before, some good common sense advice. And we do need that.
But, if you want to become successful, a CEO woith guts then you must run into trouble, create miracles via well calculated risks, earn stripes and work harder and smarter than anyone else.

I was hoping for some good insight and unfortunately found little of use.