How to Think Like A CEO
by Robert Morris
Business Nugget #41
According to D.A. Benton, there are 22 "vital traits" which one needs to develop fully. In How to Think Like A CEO (published by Warner Books), she examines each of them in detail while providing numerous examples of the success they have helped to achieve. Part One is comprised of seven chapters: Basic Equipment, The Right Ropes, Approaching the Climb, Putting It into Practice, Bridging Gaps, The Mountaineer, and Obstacles. In Part Two: How Chiefs Become Chiefs, Ascending the Peak, CEOs in Action, Moving On, How Much Do CEOs Get Paid, and Taking the Lead.
Benton realizes that a small percentage of career executives ever become a CEO. That's not the primary purpose of How to Think Like A CEO. Rather, after extensive research on some of the most effective CEOs, she answers the question "What can learned from their values, attitudes, and behavior?" Thus How to Think Like A CEO will be of substantial value to literally anyone who is determined to develop personal as well as professional skills in order to achieve peak performance.
The mountain-climbing metaphor is especially apt. In a Darwinian sense, the "fittest" climbers are those who have the necessary training and equipment, of course, but also certain personal qualities (especially tenacity, composure, self-discipline, and endurance) which enable them to reach the desired "summit", whatever and wherever it may be. Most limits in life are self-imposed. Stated another way, many people under-estimate what they can accomplish while exaggerating the difficulty of achieving whatever they may desire.
In How to Think Like A CEO, Benton observes that in all her years of mountain climbing, "more critical than the summit is the internal knowledge you gain; how to deal with your own internal fears; how to be intuitive and humble and aware of every detail; and how to live fully. And most important, I've learned my goal is not just to climb up the mountains, but to give back to them." This she does in How to Think Like A CEO.
What she "gives back" is what she herself has learned but in sharing that, there is at least an implicit suggestion that few (if any) "climbers" in life succeed without the interest, support, and encouragement of many others. Therefore, to "think like a CEO" is to think in terms of what can be contributed to the welfare of others, to think in terms of "making a positive difference" in their lives, to think in terms of how to assist them in their own struggles to succeed.
In the final chapter, Benton includes a Ò22 Vital Traits Review Form which enables the reader to rate herself or himself; it can also facilitate a Ò360Ó evaluation by others. True, approximately only 10% reach the top of any "mountain" but, in Benton's view, that's not the point. Even in large corporations blessed with an abundance of executive talent and character, there is only one CEO. It remains for each reader to evaluate himself or herself relative to the 22 traits. Then, to concentrate on strengthening whichever of those traits are in greatest need of further development. Some of the most valuable lessons in life are learned from direct experience. That's true. But much can also be learned from the direct experiences of others who have successfully climbed all manner of "mountains."
The title How to Think Like A CEO is appropriate. (It would not be appropriate had Benton used "Become" instead of "Think.") The various mindsets she examines reveal the potential impact when one is possessed of the 22 traits. Each of us is necessarily a "work in progress." A careful reading of Benton's book will help to nourish and sustain that critically important, sometimes perilous process.
by Robert Morris
Business Nugget #41
According to D.A. Benton, there are 22 "vital traits" which one needs to develop fully. In How to Think Like A CEO (published by Warner Books), she examines each of them in detail while providing numerous examples of the success they have helped to achieve. Part One is comprised of seven chapters: Basic Equipment, The Right Ropes, Approaching the Climb, Putting It into Practice, Bridging Gaps, The Mountaineer, and Obstacles. In Part Two: How Chiefs Become Chiefs, Ascending the Peak, CEOs in Action, Moving On, How Much Do CEOs Get Paid, and Taking the Lead.
Benton realizes that a small percentage of career executives ever become a CEO. That's not the primary purpose of How to Think Like A CEO. Rather, after extensive research on some of the most effective CEOs, she answers the question "What can learned from their values, attitudes, and behavior?" Thus How to Think Like A CEO will be of substantial value to literally anyone who is determined to develop personal as well as professional skills in order to achieve peak performance.
The mountain-climbing metaphor is especially apt. In a Darwinian sense, the "fittest" climbers are those who have the necessary training and equipment, of course, but also certain personal qualities (especially tenacity, composure, self-discipline, and endurance) which enable them to reach the desired "summit", whatever and wherever it may be. Most limits in life are self-imposed. Stated another way, many people under-estimate what they can accomplish while exaggerating the difficulty of achieving whatever they may desire.
In How to Think Like A CEO, Benton observes that in all her years of mountain climbing, "more critical than the summit is the internal knowledge you gain; how to deal with your own internal fears; how to be intuitive and humble and aware of every detail; and how to live fully. And most important, I've learned my goal is not just to climb up the mountains, but to give back to them." This she does in How to Think Like A CEO.
What she "gives back" is what she herself has learned but in sharing that, there is at least an implicit suggestion that few (if any) "climbers" in life succeed without the interest, support, and encouragement of many others. Therefore, to "think like a CEO" is to think in terms of what can be contributed to the welfare of others, to think in terms of "making a positive difference" in their lives, to think in terms of how to assist them in their own struggles to succeed.
In the final chapter, Benton includes a Ò22 Vital Traits Review Form which enables the reader to rate herself or himself; it can also facilitate a Ò360Ó evaluation by others. True, approximately only 10% reach the top of any "mountain" but, in Benton's view, that's not the point. Even in large corporations blessed with an abundance of executive talent and character, there is only one CEO. It remains for each reader to evaluate himself or herself relative to the 22 traits. Then, to concentrate on strengthening whichever of those traits are in greatest need of further development. Some of the most valuable lessons in life are learned from direct experience. That's true. But much can also be learned from the direct experiences of others who have successfully climbed all manner of "mountains."
The title How to Think Like A CEO is appropriate. (It would not be appropriate had Benton used "Become" instead of "Think.") The various mindsets she examines reveal the potential impact when one is possessed of the 22 traits. Each of us is necessarily a "work in progress." A careful reading of Benton's book will help to nourish and sustain that critically important, sometimes perilous process.