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Summary: HOPE MY CEO DOESN'T READ THIS REVIEW!
Review: From time to time, I must confess that I enjoy reading this light titles, easy reading books. I read this one in about an hour, and bought it principally beacuse of authors track (Harvard MBA). This book is like speaking with a CEO an asking him: What should I do to become CEO?. OK, kid, you must do the following...First... I was pleased after reading it. You will find seventy two easy to-do or not-to-do explained practical advises to become a "fish in the water" within any organization.
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Summary: Read to Succeed!
Review: Jeffrey Fox has written a fabulous little book giving no-nonsense advice on how to become an "A" player. Whether you work in a small company of 20 or a large corporation, "How to Become CEO" has 75 small chapters filled with big ideas. Every chapter has instructions including how to act, what you should pursue, and-most importantly-why. While some of the advice seems simple and some seems like it it may not work, every idea is appliable. Read a single chapter of just two-four pages and you will agree. Jeffrey Fox's straight forward writing style will make you wish you had taken the time to think about your next promotion as much as he has. Read "How to Become CEO" and you will thank the author for making your successful career easier!
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Summary: Quick read, really worth while
Review: This little book has great tid bits of info, everyone should pick it up
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Summary: Commonsense Ideas for Corporate Ladder Climbing
Review: I admit to enjoying books like this - short, pithy, easy to finish in about an hour or so. Most of the chapters are strategies that you already knew, if you thought about them. Still, it's fun and useful to have these thoughts compiled together. My only reservation is contained in the book's subtitle: "The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization." A mere cursory glance at many CEOs in this country could point out that a rule such as "be a charmless, graceless incompentent buffoon . . . but be sure to marry the boss's daughter" would often work just as well as Mr. Fox's rules . . . and be a lot less work. This is a fun read with many good thoughts on getting along in the business world, just don't expect that all - or even most - organizations are going to reward you with one of their top slots for doing so.
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Summary: Become MORE Than Just a CEO
Review: I read this book while dining alone on a business trip in Toronto. It is such an easy read, you can do just that ... read it over dinner (you may not want to do this if your spouse is eating with you). The berevity of the book is one of its key strengths. It's like a "101 Ways" sort of guide, with many small, short, and to the point chapters. The tips provided are more lifestyle changes than things to do. My favourite is to use the two most powerful words, "I need". This works so good! I quickly realized that most of the advice in the book can be applied to almost anything in life, not just moving up the corporate ladder. The advice given in this book will help you improve yourself and become more popular with friends and family. I recommend this book for anyone who wants an easy to read, take it with you (nice compact size too), and enlightening gathering of tips on how to get ahead in business, and in life.
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Summary: Jeffrey Fox, July 2000
Review: Hello readers and Amazonians! Thank you for your interest in How To Become CEO. I have been amazed at the interest this book has generated around the world. Despite the title, I have heard from many readers who do not aspire to the CEO job, but simply are looking for ways to get ahead. As one reviewer commented, it should have been titled How To Win Raises and Promotions. I like that! It would have been a great subtitle. The title comment is insightful. The book was originally untitled. It existed as a collection of private ideas I prepared for my children, friends, and clients. The advice in the book is about how to succeed in an organization, but also about being CEO of your life, or CEO of your job, your classroom, your lathe, your territory, your store, your table, yourself. The advice is unconventional, but because it is for people I know, the advice is not intended to make people fail. How To Become CEO made the New York Times, Business Week and Wall Street Journal best seller lists. Thousands of readers who bought or were given the book have, in turn, bought it for others. It is now in its 13th U.S. printing and is being published in over twenty languages and available in over 50 countries. I deeply appreciate the public's response to this little book, and am thrilled by the letters and comments I receive from all over the world. If you are ambitious, How To Become CEO was written for you. All the best of luck to you in your career.
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Summary: How to write a best seller
Review: 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.
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Summary: Good for low-level execs in large corporations
Review: 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!
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Summary: Simple and Easy to Read but Not enough "Depth"
Review: Its a good book, it is simple and easy to read (almost point form). It gives you a general idea on how to plan your career but it doesn't have enough "depth", For the price, for the "hard cover", I expect more "details" from this book.
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Summary: Should Be Retitled: How To Win Raises and Promotions
Review: 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!
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