How to Think Like a CEO: The 22 Vital Traits You Need to Be the Person at the Top [Paperback]

D. A. Benton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

Drawing on in-depth interviews, Benton identifies 22 vital traits that make a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - the leader responsible for making decisions, guiding teams, selling ideas, managing crises and conquering the mountains before them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Good advice for the aspiring executive."

-- USA Today

Product Details

• Paperback: 470 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; First Trade Edition edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446673072
• ISBN-13: 978-0446673075
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #427,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Suggestions, January 6, 2000

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Think Like a CEO: The 22 Vital Traits You Need to Be the Person at the Top (Paperback)

According to D.A. Benton, there are 22 "vital traits" which one needs to develop fully. In How to Think Like A CEO, she examines each of them in detail while providing numerous examples of the success they have helped others to achieve.

The mountain-climbing metaphor she invokes is especially apt. In a Darwinian sense, the "fittest" climbers are those who have the necessary training and equipment, of course, but also certain personal qualities (especially tenacity, composure, self-discipline, and endurance) which enable them to reach the desired "summit", whatever and wherever it may be. Most limits in life are self-imposed. Stated another way, many people under-estimate what they can accomplish while exaggerating the difficulty of achieving whatever they may desire.

In How to Think Like A CEO, Benton observes that in all her years of mountain climbing, "more critical than the summit is the internal knowledge you gain; how to deal with your own internal fears; how to be intuitive and humble and aware of every detail; and how to live fully. And most important, I've learned my goal is not just to climb up the mountains, but to give back to them." This she does by sharing so much of what she has learned.

Few who read this book will become a CEO. I suspect that few CEOs will read it. (I may be wrong about that.) Other books on the subject of leadership are far more profound. (Warren Bennis wrote many of them.) In my opinion, How to Think Like a CEO has substantial value because it enables its readers to take stock of their personal as well as professional strengths and weaknesses in correlation with the strengths of some of the world's most successful CEOs. Completing such an exercise is obviously not all that an ambitious person needs to succeed...but it can be a starting point, and perhaps a reality check from time to time later as a career develops.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars You will will still have to think for yourself, January 24, 2005

By 

Texas Techie "Code Slingin' Cowboy" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Think Like a CEO: The 22 Vital Traits You Need to Be the Person at the Top (Paperback)

Ms. Benton is a top-tier image consultant, and the first book of hers I read was Lion's Don't Need to Roar. That was a great book about projecting the "right" image. I decided to read this book because I wanted to hear her insights about the successful CEOs she has worked with.

The book presents a lot of interesting information. Twenty-two vital traits are enough to cover just about every trait, but some might be more vital than others. Obviously, any book written by a consultant to the rich and powerful has to be weighed by the need not to bite the hand that feeds you. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading the anecdotes, and I always like to hear positive things about those who occupy the seats of power (mainly because I hope that good people do get ahead).

But as far as climbing the mountain of successs by learning to think like a CEO, the caption for chapter six probably sums it up nicely: "every climber is different, and it's important for you to understand those differences." Reading history is not the same as making history. Hey, and writing book reviews isn't the same as writing books, either!

This is a good book to read on airplane trips, but don't expect it to be your master plan for taking over the world. You will still have to think for yourself and do your own heavy lifting.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute, to climb corp ladder or please someone who is !, August 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Think Like a Ceo: The 22 Vital Traits You Need to Be the Person at the Top (Hardcover)

This book is bottom line common sense, but that is exactly what most of us in the business community leave at the door each and every morning. A must read for anyone who desires to climb the corporate ladder, or just keep your boss happy who is. The little insights into the preverbial "ivory tower" remind all of us that the person who sits up on the top floor or in the corner office is not too dissimilar to ourselves. This book brings to light what has made these individuals successful and stresses what each of us must concentrate on to follow in their footsteps. Allows reader to create a checklist of habits and traits that must be mastered as we rise up the ladder. This is also important for those who are not interested in making the journey but merely satisfying a boss who is. The metaphor to mountain climbing helps bring realism and solid examples that anyone can visualize and utilize in their everyday lives.