Organized for Success : Top Executives and CEOs Reveal the Organizing Principles That Helped Them Reach the Top (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this groundbreaking guide, Stephanie Winston explains how she discovered, after more than two decades as a leading organization expert and bestselling author, that senior executives and CEOs seem to possess unique conceptual skills in the areas of time management and organization that enable them to dramatically increase their productivity. Intrigued by this revelation, Winston set out to interview dozens of senior executives in an attempt to better understand the work habits and mental discipline of the supersuccessful, and to quantify their skills and translate them into techniques that will enable managers and ambitious workers at all levels of an organization to develop their own productivity and time management style. The result is a concise, practical, inspiring, and information-filled book that will help any reader get organized for success.

Among the strategies that Winston uncovered are two that may surprise—and give heart to—many readers. First: top executives deal very differently with the day-to-day interruptions that cause most of us to lose focus and get sidelined. They view them not as a menacing obstruction to workflow but instead as a means to connect with fellow workers and enable more work to be done. Second: supersuccessful businesspeople do not multitask; they focus their complete attention on each task at hand until it is done, and then move on to the next thing. And they employ powerful delegation strategies to enhance their own productivity and that of their team.
Among the many other lessons Winston brings to the reader are insights on how to:

• conquer e-mail and paperwork gridlock
• run and participate in meetings more effectively
• develop your own best productivity and time management style
• create techniques to find valuable private time in the middle of a hectic day
• use follow-up strategies that ensure you respond to others consistently and complete all necessary tasks

Throughout Organized for Success, Winston shares practical tips and tested techniques geared to helping workers and managers at every level to adopt the strategies that highly successful executives have employed on their way up the corporate ladder.

Even more, she helps us all—not just those who aspire to the senior executive ranks—to adopt an organized and disciplined mind-set in every aspect of our professional lives.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Crown Business (August 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400047595
• ISBN-13: 978-1400047598
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #453,342 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Secret to Success? Get an Assistant!, January 28, 2005

By	Kevin V Sr (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

Overall, a disappointing book with very little original material and with really only 2 well supported principles: (1) Get an assistant to do most of your organizing and (2) How you organize depends on your own personal style. The author's material on how to use an assistant to implement organization principles may be of value to those who actually have one, but very little of it is applicable to those who don't. And the book jumps all over the place in recommending tips and tricks, so I did not find any convergence to very many "principles." I agree, organization can be very personal, but the author seems to try to capture so many individual techniques, that to say there are organizing principles here is very much a stretch.

If you really are serious about some good solid principles with beginning to end techniques to organization, I would recommend David Allen's book Getting Things Done. If you simply want a cursory overview of many existing organizing tips and tricks, than half this book may be of value. And if you do indeed have an assistant and want to utilize him/her better, then the other half is for you. Otherwise, little or nothing new here to read.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars NOT JUST FOR EXECS, January 31, 2005

By	T. Pickett - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found 'Organized for Success' very helpful, even though I work out of my home and do not aspire to be a CEO. The concept of 'spotlighting' runs counter to the current emphasis on multi-tasking, yet it makes a lot of sense. I also particularly liked the presentation of different people's styles of organization. I perpetually search for the best way to organize my materials and time. With the various examples and their framing, I think I have, in fact, discovered my personal style. (Time will tell.) I, also, actually enjoyed reading the book. Organizing may seem dull to many people. Ms. Winston's style was both relaxed and informative.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Practicals and Useables, October 21, 2005

By	Lance Ford (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those of us who are not naturally organized and who need help with ideas that are realistic and proven, Winston's book is a welcomed tool. She just flat does a good job in giving us several solutions to choose from. She does not advocate or lock in to just a single solution. E.g. From PDAs to Index cards in the front pocket...what works best for a particular individual is advocated. The last 20% of the book bogs down a little, but still does not deter from it's overall worth. This is a required book for our church planter interns at the Glocalnet training and NorthWood Church Multiplication Center.