The CEO's Boss


Book Description

The CEO’s Boss, originally published in 2010, is the definitive guide to a productive working relationship between corporate boards and CEOs. Speaking to an era when company directors must monitor the actions and day-to-day operations of their CEO, William M. Klepper offers eight essential lessons to help boards operate more effectively in this bold and independent role. Since the publication of the first edition, Klepper has continued to develop and apply its lessons for a variety of businesses and settings. In this second edition, Klepper renews the paradigm set forth in the first, with new case studies of companies such as Wells Fargo, BP, Hewlett-Packard, and Proctor & Gamble. Giving directors, executives, investors, and stakeholders the tools to make crucial relationships work, Klepper details the best techniques for selecting the right CEO, establishing a working relationship, and giving effective feedback. He affirms the importance of the social contract between directors and their CEOs, encourages directors to embrace their independence, and teaches executives to value tough love. He revisits the first edition’s case studies and derives new insights from how these companies followed—or failed to heed—the book’s precepts. He also takes a close look at the predictions he made almost ten years ago, providing new forecasts and integrating core knowledge to ensure that The CEO’s Boss remains essential in our ever-changing business landscape.




The CEO Test


Book Description

Named to the longlist for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award in the Leadership category Are you ready to lead? Will you pass the test? Despite all the effort through the years to understand what it takes to be an effective leader, the challenges of leadership remain enormously difficult and elusive; even today, most CEOs don't last five years in the job. The demands to deliver at a consistently high level can be unforgiving. The loneliness. The weight of responsibility. The relentless second-guessing and criticism. The pressure to build all-star teams. The 24/7 schedule that requires superhuman stamina. The tough decisions that often leave no one happy. The expectation to always have the right answer when it can be hard just to know the right question. These challenges are brought into their highest and sharpest relief in the corner office, but they are hardly unique to chief executives. All leaders face their own version of these tests, and the authors draw on the distilled wisdom, stories, and lessons from hundreds of chief executives to show how every aspiring leader can master these challenges and lead like a CEO. These foundational leadership skills will make all aspiring executives more effective in their roles today and lift the trajectory of their careers. The CEO Test is the authoritative, no-nonsense insider's guide to navigating leadership's toughest challenges, brought to you by authors uniquely qualified to tell the stories. Adam Bryant has conducted in-depth interviews with more than 600 CEOs. Kevin Sharer spent more than two decades as president and then CEO of Amgen, where he led its expansion from $1 billion in annual revenues to nearly $16 billion. He has served on many boards and is a sought-after mentor for CEOs of global companies. Leadership is getting harder as the speed of disruption across all industries accelerates. The CEO Test will better prepare you to succeed, whether you're a CEO or just setting out to become one.




What the CEO Wants You to Know


Book Description

A powerful lesson in what is really important in business, this remarkable book by an ultimate insider takes the lessons of the peddler and reveals how they can be used by the rest of us. Reminiscent of bestsellers such as "Who Moved My Cheese?" and" The One-Minute Manager, What the CEO Wants You to Know" is simple, direct, and of immense use to everyone in business.




The Corner Office


Book Description

Dozens of top CEOs reveal their candid insights on the keys to effective leadership, and the qualities that set high performers apart. "The Corner Office" draws together lessons from chief executives like Steve Ballmer (Microsoft) and Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks).




The CEO's Guide to Marketing


Book Description

This is the most practical marketing book you will ever read. It outlines a six-step process that will bring clarity to marketing like you’ve never experienced before. It’s literally a step-by-step guide to more leads, higher sales and a stronger brand. ​The first step is simply being a competent marketer. As the CEO of your organization, this should worry you: Your marketing team knows a lot less about marketing than they let on. And you can prove it in an instant. Ask them to explain the difference between the marketing mix and the promotional mix. It’s a basic question but surprisingly most marketers don’t know the answer. Imagine asking your accounting staff the difference between a balance sheet and an income statement and finding out you stumped them. Now consider this: You can maybe ring another 20% in sales out of your current customers, but that’s offset by the hole in your customer bucket. Real growth comes from new business development and you’ve entrusted a good share of that to a marketing team that can't define a basic marketing term. Not good. I suggest you buy a copy of this book for yourself first. I’ll show you the six steps of Strategically Aimed Marketing or the SAM 6® process for short. It will get you up to speed quickly. Then buy copies for your staff and have them integrate the process into your organization. If you are a marketing manager, writer, graphic designer or anyone else who has a hand in marketing, you should buy this book and beat your CEO to the punch. I’m not kidding when I say The CEO’s Guide to Marketing will make you the smartest marketer in the room. You are going to wish you had this book years ago. Lonny Kocina




Behind the Executive Door


Book Description

Sigmund Freud meets Peter Drucker ... Behind the Executive Door is a revealing look at the behavior of top business leaders—and how the next level of aspiring managers can learn to navigate the political and personal landscape. Based on over 25 years of psychotherapy and consulting experiences, as well as extensive empirical research, Karol Wasylyshyn has identified a dynamic continuum of executive behaviors that are manifested in three specific types of business leaders – Remarkable, Perilous, and Toxic. She describes these types in accessible terms with the intertwined goals of helping readers (1) recognize these behaviors and leadership types and (2) leverage this information to increase their savvy and effectiveness in the workplace. In the wake of Sarbanes-Oxley and the increased scrutiny of business executives, we have learned that how they lead is often their undoing – or at least it is a pressing development need and/or potential derailment factor. In short, despite financial or strategic smarts, ineffective leadership behavior de-motivates talented employees, has adverse effects on productivity, and jeopardizes positive business results. Conversely, we can recognize the qualities of effective leadership behavior, which is largely a function of emotional intelligence, the ability to tap into the needs and motivations of others and bring out their best performance. In Behind the Executive Door, the author provides a wide variety of tools and exercises to help the reader identify the behavior traits of their organizations’ leaders –and hone their own approaches to achieve positive results. In the process, readers will also gain insights and skills to manage laterally and down, as well as up the organizational ladder. The concepts can be applied in any type of organization – private or public, for-profit or non-profit. The result is not only a better understanding of organizational politics and leadership behavior, but a practical guide to making important career decisions, such as whom to work for and how to develop one’s own leadership style.




Understanding Startup Ceos


Book Description

Do you ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a startup CEO? What are they thinking? What motivates them? How can I be successful working for one? These are all common questions that if go unanswered make it seem like start-up CEOs are impossible to understand. Start-up CEOs are some of the most unique people you'll ever meet and require a specific relational approach, but don't worry there's hope, and having a true understanding of their mindset is the answer. Dan Slagen, three time start-up executive shares how-to tips and secrets based on years of experience working directly for, advising, and having countless exchanges with start-up CEOs from early stage to IPO. Whether you report directly to your startup's CEO on the executive team or not, want to better understand startup CEOs in general, or you are a start-up CEO and want to gain a better perspective on your employees thought process, this book is for you."




Product Leadership


Book Description

In today’s lightning-fast technology world, good product management is critical to maintaining a competitive advantage. Yet, managing human beings and navigating complex product roadmaps is no easy task, and it’s rare to find a product leader who can steward a digital product from concept to launch without a couple of major hiccups. Why do some product leaders succeed while others don’t? This insightful book presents interviews with nearly 100 leading product managers from all over the world. Authors Richard Banfield, Martin Eriksson, and Nate Walkingshaw draw on decades of experience in product design and development to capture the approaches, styles, insights, and techniques of successful product managers. If you want to understand what drives good product leaders, this book is an irreplaceable resource. In three parts, Product Leadership helps you explore: Themes and patterns of successful teams and their leaders, and ways to attain those characteristics Best approaches for guiding your product team through the startup, emerging, and enterprise stages of a company’s evolution Strategies and tactics for working with customers, agencies, partners, and external stakeholders




CEO: 7 Secrets To Unleash Your Inner Boss And Start Building Your Million Dollar Future Today


Book Description

You will not become rich on the outside until you become rich on the inside. “Your future self is begging you to read this book.” ~Tatyana Moshchenkov, Mompreneur “Jeremy’s ability to tell stories that paint pictures in your mind about how to achieve success is second to none.” ~Peter Beshay, CEO Here’s the bad news: Most people would rather pick up a beer than a book. They’d rather party than plan. They’d rather be entertained than be educated. Most people don’t set goals, and that’s why they work for people who do. Here’s the good news: You’re not like most people. That’s why you picked this book. That’s why you never trade what you want most – for what you want now. And that’s why you’re in pursuit of discovering how to create the best version of yourself possible. Jeremy McGilvrey is a Harvard-educated No. 1 bestselling author. When he’s not studying neuroscience or epigenetics, he’s helping business owners take their companies from brick-and-mortar to click-and-order by leveraging the massive power of the Internet. If you’re on the fence about reading this book, let me ask: when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Are you who that child wanted you to become? If not, you need to start believing in yourself and your dreams again. This book will show you scientifically proven and action-based strategies so you can do just that: believe in yourself and become who you were meant to be.




Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO


Book Description

Get the Key to the Boardroom with Powerful Executive Presence! “This book can be a key aid in helping you make it to the next level! Great coaching for anyone who is even thinking of becoming an executive!” Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times bestselling author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There “On the corporate battlefield a true leader’s success is based upon his or her ability to communicate effectively, persuade others to follow a goal, and execute it. This leads to success for all. When the stakes are high, you’re well advised to read this book first.” Scott A. Gaines, vice president, Hertz Corporation “If you are seriously looking to be perceived in the light you choose, Executive Presence is the book that not only answers the question, but shows you how to apply the answers.” Kevin Hogan, author of The Psychology of Persuasion “Harrison Monarth is a first-rate thinker who writes as clearly as he thinks. No matter where you are on the career ladder, Executive Presence will put you a step ahead of your competition.” T. Scott Gross, author of Positively Outrageous Service “Most people know that to move up in your career, you need to have self-awareness and the ability to manage the perceptions of those whose opinions count. . . . Executive Presence is your comprehensive guide to help you become more profi cient at self-marketing and the art of ethical persuasion to achieve your personal and professional goals.” Larina Kase, PsyD, MBA, author of The Confident Leader and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Confident Speaker About the Book An expert in coaching high-level players in the art of perception management, Harrison Monarth reveals the critical difference between CEOs and those of us who wish to be CEOs. It’s not a matter of intelligence, connections, or luck. It can be summed up in two words: executive presence. While most of us toil in obscurity and expect great things to follow, those on the path to corporate leadership spend their time perfecting the types of leadership communication skills that generate respect and get others to share their vision. They use these skills to establish how they are perceived by others and to manage their reputation throughout the organization. In other words, these soon-tobe top players have developed the presence of an executive through careful image management—and they make sure they have the goods to back it up. In Executive Presence, Monarth shows how you can seize control of your own career using the same skills. Inside, he explains how to: Accurately “read” people and predict their behavior Influence the perceptions of others Persuade those of opposing views to your side Create and maintain a personal “brand” Manage and control your online reputation Perform damage control when things go wrong Monarth’s conclusions aren’t based solely on his keen insight and extensive experience; they’re the result of the latest scientifi c research in interpersonal communication and human behavior. Talent and skills are important, but they alone won’t take you to the top of your organization. People reach highly infl uential positions because they deeply understand the power of perception and know how to leverage it in their favor. The good news is, anyone with the will to succeed can do it. Executive Presence provides all the techniques you need to take your career to the highest level of any organization.