Rating: 
Summary: Important for its unconventional but correct advice
Review: This book is full of great advice that contradicts the conventional wisdom you hear. For example, advice about smoozing like don't go to parties or drink with coworkers, avoid traveling in company with your superiors so they can relax, and don't put in obviously long hours because it makes you look like you can't keep up. This is different than what I have heard and seen, but it makes sense.
I do disagree with the advice to take the highest paying job. I have made a couple of strategically bad decisions by taking more money instead of taking more responsibility=opportunity. But I can't think of any other nuggets of advice that I would not recommend.
Like another reviewer said, this is a great book to give to someone just starting their career--like a graduation present. There is so much junk advice floating around the business world, and I like this book because it makes sense and makes for a livable professional life.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is about getting ahead among equals.
Review: Companies, normally, don't hire incompetent people, yet there is place for only a chosen few at the top. This book is about getting ahead among equals; it is not about increasing your business or managerial competence; these are implicitly assumed, as without them you are not even a contestant.
Though I have just started my career, I can vouch for the effectiveness of the advice presented in this book. Further, I have used the information presented here to evaluate my superiors, and have found it to be fairly accurate.
People who have found objections to heeding to senior executives requests should have read the complete chapter - it later says:
"Listen carefully to the request. The guy might be suggesting a solution, not stating the core problem. However, what he really wants is the problem solved."
Those who get ahead, besides being smart, are problem solvers; and problem solvers in turn will only choose other problem solvers.
Hence, if an executive asks you to water his plants, a stupid person would pick up the water hose and start on the job; however, a smart person after verifying that the plants are not made of plastic :), would think about either: a) ways of automating the process, or b) replacing them with plastic.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Gift for Someone Just Starting Out
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Concise Book With Excellent Advice
Review: How to Become CEO: The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization, by Jeffrey J. Fox, is an excellent reference for acheiving in the corporate environment. Mr. Fox provides 75 pointers in an easy-to-read format that, if implemented, will undoubtedly make a difference in anyone's career. These include tips like "don't expect the personnel department to plan your career" and "never surprise your boss". None of these are particularly surprising, but all are important, and this book provides handy reminders.
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Summary: Just like his other books...
Review: This reads and looks just like his other books. I wouldn't classify this as rules for the CEO as much as they are rules for being a leader in business. But, I guess how to become CEO has a better ring to it? With that being said, I found this an enjoyable read and from time to time re-read this book. It always rings true.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Comprehensive
Review: I'm not a fan of the self-help, who-moved-my-cheese, expand-a-single-idea-into-a-$20-sale book. I approach most of these with cynicism and skepticism. That said, I highly recommend this book and have used it twice in the past two years for a book discussion I ran for young stars at our company. I usually consider these business books worthwhile if 50 percent of the advice is on target for me. I find, with CEO, that the rough mix is 50 percent of the information is dead-on, 30 percent is a pretty decent fit for me, and 20 percent just doesn't make sense. The odd thing, I've found, is the mix of Fox's rules that fall into each category tends to change with each reading (I've read it three times in the last five years). Why is this so? I suspect different concepts resonate at different points in your career, that your evolving experiences validate different rules at different times. For instance, I thought Fox was being a bit puritanical and uptight when I first read his rule about having a drink with the gang. Then I watched a fellow manager tie one on with his staff, which led to a round of truth-or-dare, which led to a level of intimacy that heightened tension in the office for months. I now get Fox's point, don't even open the door to the possibility (or as we Catholics call them, near occasions of sin!). Read this book. Pick a few rules that really hit home for you. Try them on for size. Re-read it again every 18-24 months and try on a few more. While few are completely original, it's a pithy, pointed compendium of good rules by which to do business.
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