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 A former hospital administrator writes this review.
Have you ever wondered how someone that was dumber than you ended up being your boss or CEO? That really used to frost me when I was in my late twenty's and early thirty's and then I figured it out. This book does provide insight into how people ascend to the top of the heap. The problem with the book is that it takes what the CEO's say was the reason they made it and assumes they told the complete story.
Of all the CEO's that I have interacted with, I find that honesty is not something that I would put on their short list. I do not mean to imply that there is no truth in this book, there is. It is just not the complete story. From what I observed in 20 years, CEO's are in their positions because they know the right people, kiss the right behind and are willing to do whatever their boss wants. Yes, everyone has a boss even the CEO. If you have ever sat in a board meeting and watched the CEO suck up to the Chairman of the board you know what I mean.
The problem with ascending to the top of the heap is that you need to be able to compromise your principles to do it. If you aren't willing to do that, start you own business. Then you will get paid what you are truly worth, and you won't have to answer to someone other than yourself.
Can you learn something from this book? Absolutely. But, can you learn everything that you need to know to become a CEO? Absolutely not.
It is an interesting read for as far as it goes. It just does not go far enough.
 A great book for people who understand the power of self-development.
This book was great. Simple, easy to implement keys to success that make sense. This book helped me understand how I can tweak my inter-personal style to let my strong areas shine. Anyone who disrespects this book does not know the power of self-development, and will not benefit. It is an easy read. I plan to read it once a year to keep myself on track. Oh, and it is great for anyone who wants to advance their career, not just those who aspire to become the CEO.
You will will still have to think for yourself
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.
 Solid perspective.
Forget the people who claim that this book is a rehash. They need to read it again and stop skimming chapter titles and skipping pages. Yes, a lot of this material is covered in other leadership books. There are basics that every reader of this type of book simply has to know. The author can't assume that they know, so she presents the basics.Buy this book for the unique content: The quotes. Real quotes from real CEO's. Dozens of real life examples of what goes on in the life and in the mind of the man (or woman) at the top. If you want to see what motivates a CEO, it's in this book. If you want to see what a day in the life of a CEO is like, it's in this book. If you want to see how a CEO handles pressure situations, it's in this book. The quotes alone are worth the 10 to 15 bucks. The easy, specific examples of things that you can say and do to improve your situation at work are just a bonus. As a small business owner, I would like to thank Debra for helping me to bridge the gap between my home business and my career. This book showed me how the skills that I developed as an entrepreneur could be applied to my consulting job. What prevented the book from being 5 stars? Author self reference. I realize that 'Lions Don't Need To Roar' is a great book, and cross promotion is all the rage, but borrowing the bulk of entire chapters from 'Lions' is a bit much. Still, a great read.
I wish I'd known this when I started my career 12 years ago.
Some people could say this is common sense. But my years in corporate America has taught me it's not common practice. Benton lays out in a clear, succinct manner what the best leaders in business or in politics do to be effective. You'll recognize a lot of the traits in yourself and a lot in people that you admire. More importantly you'll be reminded of the importance of various attributes and will be given examples of how to use this information for yourself -- to become the effective individual that you want to be.Even if you don't aspire to being "CEO" you still have to work with one so you might as well know and understand how they think to make your own life better.
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(based on 26 reviews)
