Synopsis
With tremendous power at their fingertips, CEOs also have tremendous pressures and overwhelming responsibilities. How do these mere mortals deal with the heady combination of worship and resentment? How do they juggle the apparent freedom to do anything and the burden they constantly bear: that the careers, investments, and incomes of thousands of people depend upon their wisdom? This is the CEO paradox.
The CEO Paradox is an insightful, moving, and highly personal look at how to wrestle with the rigors of authority. Thomas R. Horton writes with eloquence, wit, and the wisdom that comes from over three decades in leadership positions. He distills his own experiences and his observations of CEOs in other organizations into a sampler of sensible advice on how to deftly manage both the demands and temptations of leadership.
The author speaks his mind - both as a critic of the bad calls and weaknesses of well-known leaders and as admirer of the strategic vision of others. His insights provide CEOs, leaders, and would-be leaders with valuable lessons that range from the dangers of ambition and greed to advice on planning, budgeting, and decision making to fashion notes for CEOs and warnings to control "those twittering hormones." He also shares practical ideas for how readers can nurture the highest qualities within themselves, bring out the best in their employees, and cultivate both the "inner" and the "outer" person.
In the end, what makes a successful CEO? According to Horton, "World-class executives, like world-class products, earn their reputation by their quality." The CEO Paradox shows leaders at all levels how to bypass the shallow seductions of power and find the quality in themselves and all who surround them.
Reviews
Posing as a retiring chief executive officer advising a successor, Horton, a former CEO of the American Management Association, offers a clear and fresh picture of corporate life at the top. Quoting from leading company chiefs--Iacocca, Watson, Ted Turner et al.--the author both cautions and encourages the new leader about delegation of authority, decision-making, time management, handling pressure and (all-important) advance planning. Horton finds broad general knowledge and world travel to be CEO assets in modern industry; he recommends wide-ranging in-house personal contacts (with skill at remembering names) and a prudent rein on ego and libido. A prime CEO function, the author writes, is maintaining a company's "culture" or attitude a la Sam (Wal-mart) Walton or Bill (Microsoft) Gates, and, somewhat surprisingly, he values "creating a customer" higher than profits as such. Though specialized, this business role/profile is informative, entertaining and accessible to the general reader.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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