In How to Become CEO, consultant Jeffrey Fox has written an insightful handbook of traits to develop for all generations of CEO aspirants - or for anyone who wants to get ahead in today's business world. Open it to any page and find a short, provocative piece of brutally honest advice written in a conversational tone. Each of the seventy-five "rules" focuses on a specific action that should be taken, a trait that needs to be developed, or a prohibition to follow. The words never and always are used frequently. These are smart, no-nonsense business messages that are meant to be revisited in your rise to the top. Anyone looking to climb the corporate ladder will be grateful for Fox's direct, pithy advice - the essentials to follow if you want to reach the top.
About the Author
Jeffrey J. Fox is the bestselling author of How to Become a Rainmaker and How to Become CEO and the founder of Fox & Co., a premier marketing consulting company in Avon, CT. Prior to starting Fox & Co., he was VP Marketing and Corporate VP of Loctite Corporation. Fox is the subject of a top 100 Harvard Business School case study that is also thought to be the most widely taught marketing case study in the world. A frequent speaker to large organizations and groups of senior executives, he is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. He lives in New Hampshire.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | |
| I | Always Take the Job That Offers the Most Money | 1 |
| II | Avoid Staff Jobs, Seek Line Jobs | 4 |
| III | Don't Expect the Personnel Department to Plan Your Career | 6 |
| IV | Get and Keep Customers | 8 |
| V | Keep Physically Fit | 11 |
| VI | Do Something Hard and Lonely | 13 |
| VII | Never Write a Nasty Memo | 15 |
| VIII | Think for One Hour Every Day | 17 |
| IX | Keep and Use a Special "Idea Notebook" | 19 |
| X | Don't Have a Drink with the Gang | 20 |
| XI | Don't Smoke | 22 |
| XII | Skip All Office Parties | 24 |
| XIII | Friday is "How Ya' Doin'?" Day | 26 |
| XIV | Make Allies of Your Peers' Subordinates | 28 |
| XV | Know Everybody by Their First Name | 29 |
| XVI | Organize "One-Line Good-Job" Tours | 31 |
| XVII | Make One More Call | 33 |
| XVIII | Arrive Forty-five Minutes Early and Leave Fifteen Minutes Late | 35 |
| XIX | Don't Take Work Home from the Office | 37 |
| XX | Earn Your "Invitation Credentials" | 39 |
| XXI | Avoid Superiors When You Travel | 42 |
| XXII | Eat in Your Hotel Room | 44 |
| XXIII | Work, Don't Read Paperbacks, on the Airplane | 46 |
| XXIV | Keep a "People File" | 47 |
| XXV | Send Handwritten Notes | 49 |
| XXVI | Don't Get Buddy-Buddy with Your Superiors | 51 |
| XXVII | Don't Hide an Elephant | 53 |
| XXVIII | Be Visible: Practice WACADAD | 55 |
| XXIX | Always Take Vacations | 57 |
| XXX | Always Say "Yes" to a Senior Executive Request | 59 |
| XXXI | Never Surprise Your Boss | 61 |
| XXXII | Make Your Boss Look Good, and Your Boss's Boss Look Better | 63 |
| XXXIII | Never Let a Good Boss Make a Mistake | 65 |
| XXXIV | Go to the Library One Day a Month | 67 |
| XXXV | Add One Big New Thing to Your Life Each Year | 69 |
| XXXVI | Study These Books | 71 |
| XXXVII | "Dress for a Dance" | 73 |
| XXXVIII | Overinvest in People | 75 |
| XXXIX | Overpay Your People | 78 |
| XL | "Stop, Look, and Listen" | 81 |
| XLI | Be a Flag-Waving Company Patriot | 83 |
| XLII | Find and Fill the "Data Gaps" | 85 |
| XLIII | Homework, Homework, Homework | 87 |
| XLIV | Never Panic ... Or Lose Your Temper | 89 |
| XLV | Learn to Speak and Write in Plain English | 92 |
| XLVI | Treat All People as Special | 95 |
| XLVII | Be a Credit Maker, Not a Credit Taker | 97 |
| XLVIII | Give Informal Surprise Bonuses | 99 |
| XLIX | Please, Be Polite with Everyone | 101 |
| L | Ten Things to Say That Make People Feel Good | 103 |
| LI | The Glory and the Glamour Come after the Gruntwork | 105 |
| LII | Tinker, Tailor, Try | 107 |
| LIII | Haste Makes Waste | 110 |
| LIV | Pour the Coals to a Good Thing | 113 |
| LV | Put the Importance on the Bright Idea, Not the Source of the Idea | 115 |
| LVI | Stay Out of Office Politics | 117 |
| LVII | Look Sharp and Be Sharp | 119 |
| LVIII | Emulate, Study, and Cherish the Great Boss | 121 |
| LIX | Don't Go Over Budget | 123 |
| LX | Never Underestimate an Opponent | 125 |
| LXI | Assassinate the Character Assassin with a Single Phrase | 127 |
| LXII | Become a Member of the "Shouldn't Have Club" | 129 |
| LXIII | The Concept Doesn't Have to Be Perfect, but the Execution of It Does | 131 |
| LXIV | Record and Collect Your Mistakes with Care and Pride | 133 |
| LXV | Live for Today; Plan for Tomorrow; Forget about Yesterday | 135 |
| LXVI | Have Fun, Laugh | 136 |
| LXVII | Treat Your Family as Your Number One Client | 138 |
| LXVIII | No Goals, No Glory | 140 |
| LXIX | Always Remember Your Subordinates' Spouses | 142 |
| LXX | See the Job through the Salespeople's Eyes | 144 |
| LXXI | Be a Very Tough "Heller Seller" | 146 |
| LXXII | Don't Be an Empire Builder | 149 |
| LXXIII | Push Products, Not Paper | 151 |
| LXXIV | To Teach Is to Learn and to Lead | 154 |
| LXXV | Do Not Get Discouraged by the Idea Killers | 156 |
| Epilogue | 159 |
How to Become a Great Boss: The Rules for Getting and Keeping the Best Employees
